Animals of the Sky
by chibigirl121
Summary: Deep in the forest lies a cabin. In the cabin lives a lonely boy who has remained hidden away from the outside world. But he cannot stay there forever. For now, he begins to take in a... strange assortment of animals. AU
1. Sky

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**A/N: I apologize for any grammar mistakes.**

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Sky

Shouts and gunshots rang the hallways of the Vongola mansion. Fire burned in various places of the building, bodies lay all over the floor and against the walls. Men in black suits hid behind objects and shot at each other.

On the far side of the building, a small nine year old boy hid under his bed. He covered his ears and whimpered softly. He flinched at every gunshot and pained cry coming from outside his door

Suddenly, his bedroom door slammed open.

"Tsuna! Tsuna, where are you?" called a soft voice.

Tsuna gasped. "Mommy!" he crawled out from under his bed and ran to hug his mother. "Mommy, where's daddy? Where's grandpa?"

His mother grabbed his hand and tugged him along. "They're outside. Come, you have to leave!"

The boy and his mother ran through the halls, carefully avoiding any men carrying guns. Tsuna looked out the windows as he ran. Outside, he could see flames of various colors being shot through the air.

At last, they reached the back door of the kitchen. Standing outside was an old maid and his grandfather, who was holding a locked suitcase.

"Grandpa! Where's daddy? What's happening?" Poor Tsuna was on the verge of tears.

Tsuna's grandfather bent down and hugged his grandson. "Your father is busy." He held Tsuna by the shoulders at arms length. He looked at him straight in the eyes. "Tsuna, you must leave. The enemy families are going to be here soon."

"You're coming with me, right? Mommy and daddy too?" Tsuna looked at him with wide eyes; but inside, he already knew the truth.

"No, you must go alone. You are the last candidate for the title Decimo. They must not find out that you are alive. You must be brave, okay? What has your father told you constantly?"

Tsuna sniffed. "That men don't cry…"

"Yes, so be brave and stop your tears. Maria will take you somewhere safe. Whatever you do, never leave her side. Promise?"

"I promise."

"Good, now go hug your mother."

Tsuna ran to his mom and hugged her tightly. "I don't wanna go." he whispered.

"You have to. I want you to live. Promise me that you'll stay alive."

"Yes mom"

"Good boy, now go."

Tsuna ran to the elderly maid. Maria held on to Tsuna's hand tightly.

Nono went to the maid and gave her the suitcase. "Keep this safe." He bent down in front of Tsuna. "Tsuna, I know that it's a little early… but I'm going to give you your birthday present now."

He held up his hand and pulled off his ring. He took Tsuna's hand and placed the ring in his palm.

Tsuna gapped. "Y-your ring? But you need it!"

"You need it more than I do. Whatever you do, do not lose it. Understand?"

Tsuna hugged the ring close to his body. "Yes, grandpa."

There was a loud explosion from inside the mansion. One of the men from Vongola came running out. He had injuries all over and was bleeding from a wound on his head. "Nono, the enemy is almost here!"

"Go Tsuna!" Nono ran back inside the mansion, activating his sky flames as he went. Tsuna's mother followed closely behind.

Maria dragged Tsuna into the forest and ran away from the mansion. The two quickly disappeared into the shadows of the forest, leaving behind the lost mansion.

On that night, the Vongola fell and an age of chaos and destruction began.

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**A/N: Leave me reviews? Give me your opinion on the start of this brand new story!**


	2. Storm

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**A/N: I'm just… wow. Just wow. So many alerts and favorites! The Katekyo Hitman section is definitely different from the Avatar Last Airbender section. Thanks for the support everyone!**

**Sorry for grammar mistakes and things. Also, if you happen to find any plot holes in the future or something please tell me. I have the tendency to forget small details when writing such long chapters.**

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Storm

A silver colored cat yawned and stretched languidly. When it had finished stretching, it padded off through the house in search of his keeper.

Its keeper was an old, old man, a very intelligent scientist and inventor. He was famous for his many useful inventions and wisdom. The old man spent most of his time working in his lab and scribbling multiple formulas and theorems.

At last, the cat came to a metal door. The door slid open and the cat walked in. The lab was made of high grade steel that protected the rest of the house from the various experiments the scientist usually did. All along the walls sat various half finished inventions.

On the far side of the room, the scientist stood in front of a desk in front of a nearly finished metal box. He finished putting some parts into the machine before closing up the top with a metal lid.

The cat hopped onto the desk, careful not to disturb the materials, and watched its owner intently.

The scientist had longed disliked the fighting and the war. Since the Vongola family had fallen so many years ago, other mafia families had been fighting each other over who was the strongest. A few years back, one of the families had stormed into his home and demanded that he make weapons for them.

At first, the scientist had refused, but the family did not take no for an answer and forced the scientist to comply with their demands. Being weak and elderly, the old scientist easily submitted to their orders.

Now, many years later, the scientist could feel the years catching up with him. A few months ago, it began with a slight cough. The cough then evolved into a painful wheezing. Soon, the old man began feeling weak and barely had the strength to get up anymore.

To say that the scientist was unhappy would be a lie. In fact, he embraced his sickness with open arms and planned to greet death with just as much enthusiasm. He could feel death approaching around the corner now.

Back in the present, he sighed and sat down at his desk. He had barely gotten any sleep the past week. He turned his head and saw the cat staring intently at the box, its eyes gleamed a sharp, sophisticated green.

He had found the cat, injured and alone, one year prior. He had assumed that it had gotten hurt during a fight that had broken out between two feuding factions. In a moment of pity, he had taken in the cat and nursed it back to health.

The cat had remained with him ever since. During the time that the cat lived with him, he had discovered that it had a fairly high level of intellect. The cat seemed to understand his theorems and various diagrams. Sometimes, the cat would help him with his work.

The cat soon became the son the scientist never had.

The cat also seemed to have an odd interest in explosives. He was often found batting small sticks of dynamite around the house. At first, the old man had hidden the dynamite from the cat. Eventually, the cat would find the stash and continue batting sticks around. Finally, the scientist just gave up.

The scientist raised his hand and scratched the cat behind the ears. He sighed again. "How simple life must be for you."

The cat mewed. He looked questioningly at the odd contraption.

The scientist patted the box gently. "I'm too old to be fighting wars. This will put an end to all that." He returned to scratching the feline's head. "When I tell you to leave, you must leave this house and never come back. Understand?"

The cat mewed, tilting its head in confusion as if asking why.

"You will leave. Understand?"

The cat nodded begrudgingly, not quite understanding why his keeper was acting this way.

Just then, there was a loud slam as the front door was opened forcefully. Multiple footsteps made their way to the lab, each step echoing through the house. The scientist picked up the cat and put it on the floor.

The lab door opened and revealed five men in black suits holding guns. Two stood on either side of the door, keeping guard. The other three stepped up to the scientist.

"It's been a week since you've last delivered a weapon to the Morte di Famiglia. The boss is getting impatient." The leader sneered.

The scientist glanced at the man from the corner of his eye before turning back to his cat. He gave it a little shove towards the door. "Go"

The cat looked at the old man with worry before dashing out of the house.

The man turned back to the men. "I have a new weapon for your boss right here," he indicated to the box on his desk. "Please have a look."

"Hmph, it better not be defective." The three approached the box.

"I assure you that it works perfectly fine." The scientist put a hand into one of his pockets and gripped a small trigger.

* * *

The cat finally reached the outside of the house. Just as it reached the forest that lay on the edge of the property, it heard the sounds of a large explosion from behind it. It whirled around in time to see the house erupt into a giant ball of fire. Debris rained from the sky and there were faint shouts from the other side of the house.

The cat meowed in panic and ran back to the house, despite what the old man had said. Just as he reached the burning wreckage, a figure came stumbling out of the smoke and flames. At first, it thought it was the old man.

It was wrong.

The suited man coughed and cursed violently. "Damn that old man! He's lucky that he's dead or I would have made him pay for his trickery!" He coughed again. He turned to return back to base, when he saw the cat.

A deranged grin crept onto his face. "Hello kitty, still here? You should have listened to your stupid master because now I'm going to take out my anger on you!" He whipped out his gun and began shooting haphazardly at the cat.

The cat yowled loudly as some of the bullets grazed its leg and body. Then, in the blink of an eye, it dashed off into the forest. It heard the man cackle loudly before disappearing into the brush.

Overhead, dark clouds rolled across the horizon.

* * *

In a cozy cabin, not too far away, a spiky brown haired boy awoke to a new day. He pushed himself and stretched. He pushed himself out of bed and went to the bathroom, a small room hidden in the farthest corner of the cabin, to wash up.

The cabin was a standard one room cabin, with a bathroom off to the side, with two windows. At max, it could fit four people. At the moment, however, only one person resided in the cabin. In one corner sat a bed with a nightstand next to it. At the foot of the bed sat a large chest locked with a combination padlock.

On the other side of the room sat a table with two chairs. The kitchen area took up a good fourth of the cabin. Most of the objects were pushed off to the side and corners so the center of the cabin was clear and empty. In the empty area a round rug decorated the floor.

The cabin lay deep in the forest between two sloping hills, away from civilization and prying eyes. The nearest town was 5 miles away but the steep hills and thick trees kept out unwanted guests. He would go to town at once a month to necessary supplies, like medicine and such. He usually left early in the morning to avoid the mafia families and townspeople, who were usually still sleeping at that time.

A fairly sized river ran nearby, which was where he got his water. The cabin had a single wood burning stove that he used to cook and heat water for his baths and other needs.

Tsuna had now finished getting ready and was making his bed. When he finished, he turned to the nightstand. On the nightstand sat a chain with a fancy looking ring attached to it. Next to the necklace was a picture frame.

In the picture frame was an old man in a black suit, a blond haired middle age man in a suit, a long brown haired lady wearing a dress, and a small brown haired boy. Tsuna smiled sadly at the picture, sitting on his bed and picking up the frame.

"Good morning," he murmured softly. "To think it's already been 5 years since I came here. I hope Maria is doing well up there." Maria had died three years ago from an illness. Tsuna had grown up into an independent fourteen year old, charged with caring for the cabin by himself.

"To be honest, I've been feeling a bit lonely for a while. I wish everyone was still alive and that we were together again..." Tsuna let out a depressed sigh.

He carefully placed the picture back on the stand. He picked up the necklace and slipped it on, hiding it under his shirt.

Just then, he heard a loud thump at the front door. Tsuna, frowning, stood up and went to the door. He flattened himself against it and opened it slowly. When he saw nothing unusual outside, he opened to door completely.

In front of his door sat a small package. Tsuna looked left and right. What was a package doing here? His cabin was practically in the middle of nowhere. He didn't receive mail or anything.

He bent down, picked up the box, and went inside. He closed the door behind him and placed the box on the table. He examined it at all angles. It didn't look booby trapped. If it were a bomb, he was sure his hyper intuition would have kicked in already.

On top of the box was a post-it. When Tsuna pulled it off and read it, a cloud of question marks appeared over his head.

_Happy Birthday_

Happy birthday? It wasn't his birthday. His birthday was in the middle of autumn, right now was the middle of spring. He put down the post-it and began opening the box. When he finally got the tape off and opened the lid he looked at his 'birthday present' with confusion.

Sitting in the box was a pair of mittens. He picked them up and examined them. They looked like a regular pair of mittens, but he wasn't sure. He was still staring at the mittens when he heard a low rumble outside.

He looked out a window and saw storm clouds drift overhead. From the looks of it, it was going to be violent.

Tsuna tossed the box into a corner and tucked the mittens into his pockets. For some reason, he felt that the mittens were very important.

He ran outside to bring in his drying laundry, which was hanging off a line between two trees.

***TIME SKIP***

Tsuna had just folding his clothes when his hyper intuition started acting up. He tensed and looked around warily. Was something trying to kill him?

He put down the shirt and looked around. His intuition was telling him to go outside into the pouring rain and gusty winds. Never before doubting his ability, he pulled on a rain coat and went out.

He shielded his face from the pelting rain and followed the tug into the forest. After walking for some time, he finally spotted something silver on the ground.

He slowly approached the object curiously. When he came within a few feet, the thing hissed and a flash of green glared at him.

Tsuna studied it and realized that it was a cat. An injured cat. From the looks of its injuries, it looked like someone had tried to shoot it.

He went on his knees and slowly inched closer. "H-hey there. Nice kitty. I won't hurt you." The cat snarled. Tsuna swallowed nervously. "Come here, I can help patch up your injuries." He carefully extended out a hand.

The cat lashed out and scratched him.

"Ow!" Tsuna winced. "Come on, you have to get out of this storm."

The cat refused to move from its current position. He continued glaring at Tsuna with vivid hostility.

Tsuna sighed. "Why are cats so stubborn-"He flinched when his intuition began screaming at him.

There was a loud crack as a random bolt of lightning struck a nearby tree. The tree began to creak and topple sideways, towards Tsuna and the cat. The cat stared wide eyed at the tree before squeezing its eyes shut.

"Look out!" Without hesitation, Tsuna ran towards the cat, pulling in into his arms, and jumping out of the path of the tree, landing on his side as he did.

There was a loud thud and shake as the tree hit the ground.

The cat opened its eyes, founding itself staring at Tsuna's face, whose eyes were closed. The cat pulled itself out of Tsuna's arms and mewed frantically.

The boy opened his eyes with a groan. "Owww," he pushed himself up and rubbed his arm painfully. He saw the cat and smiled in relief. "Oh, you're alright. I'm glad."

The cat looked at him in disbelief. The kid just had risked his life to save a cat he didn't know. The cat felt touched by the boy's kind spirit. In this moment, its personality did a complete 180.

It jumped into the boy's arms and purred.

Tsuna stared at the cat in surprise. "You're going to come with me?"

The cat just purred in response.

"Uh… okay." Tsuna took the cat back to his cabin where he properly cleaned and dressed the wounds. He stared at the cat, who was now sitting on his table.

"Your wounds are going to take a few days to heal so you should stay here for the time being."

The cat mewed in affirmative and rubbed itself against his arm happily.

"I guess that means that you're going to stay?"

'Mew!'

Tsuna petted the cat on the head gently. "My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi, but I prefer to be called Tsuna. Do you have a name?"

The cat shook its head. If Tsuna found it weird that the cat could understand him, he didn't show it.

"I should probably give you a name. I don't think anyone would appreciate being called 'Cat' for the rest of their lives." He frowned in thought. "I think I'll call you… Hayato. How does that sound?"

'Mew!'

"I thought so too."

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**A/N: Morte di Famiglia – Death Family**

**Reviews? :D**


	3. Rain

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**A/N: Apologies for grammar mistakes.**

"Blah" – normal speech by humans

'_Blah' _– speech by animals (animal sounds to humans)

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Rain

A dojo sat in a small clearing, surrounded by tall walls. Inside, a tall Japanese man was practicing his swordsmanship. This man was the last heir of the famed Shigure Soen Ryu. Much of his family and other branches had fallen following the years of the Vongola's fall. Many mafia families had tried to recruit the legendary swordsmen into their ranks. All had refused, resulting in their death and disappearance.

The man knew that it wouldn't be long before he fell as well. Outside, the rain continued to fall. The heir stopped his practice and stared out towards the falling precipitation.

Then, he turned to look at something small and fuzzy off to the side. "I'm getting pretty hungry, want to get something to eat?"

The dog barked and looked up at his master expectantly. The man had found the dog a few months before, wandering the streets. Out of sheer loneliness he took the dog into his home.

Most of the time, the dog had always sat off to the side and watched man practice his swordsmanship. Its eyes followed all of the motions eagerly, as if the dog itself was memorizing the 8 forms of Shigure Soen Ryu.

The man sighed as he bent down to pet the dog. The dog whined and looked at his companion questioningly. "It's nothing;" smiled the man, "if only you were human, then you could help keep this dying style alive."

The dog barked encouragingly. Then, it ran out of the room. It reappeared after a short while with a baseball in its mouth. It dropped the ball at its friend's feet and barked again.

The man chuckled. "Alright, I'll stop being depressed. Let's go eat first." He stood up and walked out, his dog followed behind him with the ball.

Instead of using a tennis ball like others, the dog oddly preferred the baseball. The man faintly wondered if it was because its previous owner was also fond of baseball.

He finally reached the kitchen and went straight for the fridge. He opened it up and took out some sushi he had made earlier. The dog sat near the table and waited expectantly. The man placed a bowl filled with dog food and some pieces of sushi in front of it.

The man had read somewhere that dog's couldn't survive on an all fish diet, but it was okay to feed it some raw fish now and then. Still, the dog seemed to prefer sushi over his dog food for some odd reason.

Both had just finished their meal when the man heard the sound of a doorbell. Quietly, he stood up and went to go answer it. The dog followed close behind him.

Just when both had reached the outside of the dojo, the front gate burst open. Groups of men dressed in black suits flooded the courtyard and surrounded the young swordsman. The dog growled menacingly and fell into a defensive crouch.

One of the men approached the heir with an obvious fake smile on his face. "Good day sir. My name is Raphael of the Parassiti Famiglia. We have come here to ask of your services to help us defeat the devilous Morte di Famiglia."

The heir placed a hand on the hilt of his katana, which rested on his waist. "I'll have to refuse. I have no wish to help you slaughter others."

The mafioso frowned. "Slaughter is such an ugly word. _Dispose _would be much better. Besides, what is the use of a sword other than to kill? If you do not wish to kill others, then what is the use of your wonderful swordsmanship? It would be such a waste of skill not to use it."

"_I will not kill innocents_."

There was a moments pause, and then a sigh. "A pity then, it's your lose. Kill him."

The swordsman exploded into action. In the span of a single breath, five men lay dead on the floor. He became a blur as he began fighting a battle he would clearly lose. He caught the eye of his dog. "Run!"

The dog hesitated and whimpered stubbornly.

"Go! I'll be okay!"

The dog gave him a mournful whine before dashing between fighting mafioso and out the gate.

"Quick! Catch that dog! We can make use of him!"

Some of the men made to chase the dog but were cut down mercilessly by the swordsman. "You'll have to go through me first."

* * *

The dog dashed away from the dojo at lightning speeds, its powerfully built body easily avoiding various vegetation and obstacles. It could hear the men crashing through the brush behind him.

It continued running until he came to a cliff. It whimpered and looked over the edge, seeing a raging river at the bottom. It heard a crash and turned to see five men emerge from the forest.

"Hehehe, there's nowhere for you to run. Come here you stupid mutt." One of the men held a lasso and inched closer to the dog.

The dog inched backwards, trying to distance itself from the man. Suddenly, it felt the cliff under its feet begin to crumble from the rain. The dog yelped as it fell from the cliff into the river below. It blacked out before hitting the waters.

* * *

Tsuna sat in a chair next to the window. He rested his head in one hand, which was propped against the windowsill. The other hand scratched Hayato, who sat on his lap, behind the ears absent mindedly.

It had been three days since Tsuna had rescued Hayato from the storm. Hayato had been making good progress on his recovery. Tsuna couldn't help think that Hayato acted more like a dog than a cat during the three days.

The day after wrapping his injuries, Hayato was overly eager to please his newfound savior. He felt like he owed his very life to this individual who had risked his life to save him. He waited on Tsuna hand and foot, eager to do whatever his master wished.

The storm itself had winded down into a now tranquil shower. Tsuna had remained inside for the three days and was a bit impatient with the rain. He was bored of staying inside and needed some fresh air.

At last, the rain seemed to lighten up into a slight drizzle. Having enough of the indoors, Tsuna decided to take a short walk before it began pouring again. He stood up and put on his rain coat.

Hayato followed at his heels and meowed expectantly. Tsuna looked down at the cat. "Are you going to stay inside?"

Hayato shook his head and nudged Tsuna to continue on. Tsuna took an umbrella off a hook and stepped outside. He opened up the umbrella, shielding Hayato and himself from the wet. He decided to go see if the river that flowed nearby had overflowed its banks again.

Both walked over the squishy earth until they came to the river. Tsuna stood on a small hill that overlooked it. At the moment, the river was a raging torrent of water. Fortunately, it remained within the bank's borders.

As Tsuna looked up and down the bank, he saw something lying half out of the water. As he leaned over to try and get a closer look, he slipped on a patch of wet grass.

He let out a sharp 'Hieeee!' as he fell and slid down the hill into the mud below. This was something Hayato had learned during his stay with the boy. Tsuna seemed to have an unhealthy dose of clumsiness, sometimes tripping over air or his own two feet.

Hayato dashed down the hill with ease to make sure the boy was uninjured and okay. Tsuna groaned at his unluckiness and stood up. He groaned again when he saw how much mud he had gotten on his clothes. Just great, more laundry to do!

He pushed the laundry to the back of his mind and made his way over to the thing lying in the mud. As he got closer, he realized that the said thing was actually a dog. He inched closer and carefully examined it.

The dog was wet and covered in mud. It lay on its side and breathed shallowly. Tsuna had no doubt that the dog was probably freezing from the frigid warriors. He hoped that the owner was nearby somewhere, but his intuition already told him that the owner was long gone from this world.

At this time, Hayato finally reached his master. He made a loud ruckus making sure that his master was unharmed, and then he saw the dog. Like most cats, he was not very trustful of dogs. He hissed warily at the still animal.

Tsuna rested a hand on top of his head. "It's okay Hayato," he assured the cat, "He won't hurt you." Tsuna examined the dog further and realized that one of its front legs was fractured. He wondered faintly how long the dog had been lying here. Then, he frowned and tried to figure out how to move the dog without causing it more pain.

Finally, he closed his umbrella and placed it on the ground. "Hayato, do you think you can drag this back to the cabin for me?"

Hayato looked down at the dog, and then at his master. When he realized what his master wanted to do, he shook his head vigorously.

"Please Hayato, I can't leave him out here."

Hayato meowed loudly in protest.

"I didn't leave you out in the storm and I refuse to leave this dog out here in the rain."

Hayato glared at the dog balefully for a good minute, and then he grabbed the umbrella's handle and began dragging it back to the cabin.

Tsuna smiled in relief and gingerly picked to the dog. The trio slowly went back up the hill and back to the cabin. When they reached the inside Tsuna put the dog on his bed, despite the dog being dirty and muddying the sheets.

Tsuna ran to get a towel and carefully wiped the dog down, removing as much mud as he could. When he had cleaned off the mud, he realized that the dog was of the Akita Inu breed. It had black fur with a white underbelly. After cleaning up the dog, he made a splint for its broken leg. When he finally finished it was very late in the day.

Tsuna yawned, exhausted from caring for the dog. Too tired to cook a proper dinner, he ate leftovers from the day before and fed Hayato some fish he had caught earlier in the week. He took a quick bath after and placed some spare sheets on the floor next to his bed. He took his pillow and fell asleep on the temporary bed. Hayato gave the dog one last glare before falling asleep next to Tsuna.

* * *

The dog awoke when the sun was high in the sky. It raised its head lethargically and looked around in confusion. It saw that it was in a small cabin and wondered where the owner was. It caught sight of something silver on the table and stared.

The cat, it now realized, was giving it the scariest glare it had ever seen. The dog wondered how long the cat had been glaring and if there were any holes in him from the intense glaring.

'_Excuse me, could you tell me where I am-'_

'_Stupid mutt! You should just leave and crawl back into the river where you came from!' _hissed the cat.

The dog was briefly taken back by the rudeness of the cat. Then it just brushed off the rudeness as if it had never heard. _'Do you live here? Where is your master? You don't need to be so-'_

'_Shut up mutt! You give me a headache!'_

Luckily, Tsuna chose this moment to return back. He opened the door and came in with a bag of groceries, having left earlier that morning to do his monthly shopping. "I'm ho…me"

The intense atmosphere was almost suffocating. Tsuna could almost see Hayato's murderous aura reaching out in an attempt to kill the dog.

"Hayato! Please stop fighting with Dog-san!"

Hayato flattened his ears at the sound of his master's voice and reigned in his aggressive aura. He turned to face away from the annoying mutt.

Tsuna sighed in relief and smiled at the dog. "You're awake! I'm glad. You were unconscious for two days. Are you feeling okay?"

The dog barked.

"I see. Well, I bought some dog food so if you're hungry I'll give it to you. Don't worry Hayato, I got food for you too."

While Tsuna was packing away the groceries and preparing lunch, the entire dog's memories came flooding back in a rush. The dog whimpered when a memory of its fighting friend flash before his eyes. It whimpered again when it saw itself falling from the cliff.

Its friend was gone forever. Suddenly, the dog felt painfully alone. What was the point of going on? There was no reason to live if its only friend was dead.

Tsuna watched a heavy cloud of depression settle over the dog. Quickly, he put the food into a dish and placed it in front of the dog. "Come on, I'm sure you'll feel better if you eat."

The dog looked at the food briefly before turning away.

Tsuna sighed and returned back to the kitchen. He opened up a can of cat food and placed it in front of Hayato. Then he reached back into the bag and pulled out a small box of sushi.

While he was returning back to the cabin, Tsuna had spotted a small sushi shop amongst the stores. For some strange reason, he felt the need to buy sushi. Without hesitation, he went into the shop and ordered a roll to bring back.

Tsuna opened the box and gave Hayato a piece. Hayato purred gratefully and devoured the fish. Tsuna placed a piece in his mouth and sighed nostalgically. He remembered a time when he and his family used to eat sushi at least three times a week.

A sharp whine pierced the air and Tsuna snapped back to reality. He turned his head and saw the dog still moping in front of his food. He stared at the sushi in his hand, and then at the dog. His intuition told him that it was okay to feed the dog sushi.

He went to the bed and bent down in front of the dog. "Hey, do you want some? I don't think I'll be able to finish it all."

The dog turned and stared at the sushi in Tsuna's hand. It made no move to take the food.

"Please?"

The dog continued to stare. Finally, it leaned out and ate the sushi. It began whimpering again as it chewed on the fish.

Tsuna patted its head sympathetically. "You should eat and get better. I'm sure that your previous owner would have wanted you to continue living for him."

The dog stared at Tsuna with wide eyes before placing a paw in Tsuna's hand. Tsuna smiled encouragingly.

"I guess that means you're going to stay here until your leg heals?"

'Arf!'

"We should give you a name. Dog-san is too plain for one as loyal as you. I think I'll name you Takeshi."

'_Nooo! That stupid mutt can't stay here! Kick him out Tsuna-sama!'_

'_Let's be good friends!'_

Takeshi made a promise to himself to never lose someone important again.

* * *

**A/N: Parassiti Famiglia – Parasite Family**


	4. Lightning

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**A/N: Apologies for grammar mistakes and misspellings. My spell check stopped working halfway through for some reason…**

"Blah" – normal speech by humans

'_Blah' _– speech by animals (animal sounds to humans)

* * *

Lightning

A middle aged man in overalls practically skipped up to his barn. He threw open the doors and greeted his animals wholeheartedly. "Good morning everyone!"

The various cattle of the barn all greeted him back in a slightly less enthusiastic manner. Only one animal replied to the farmer with matched eagerness. A small calf leaned out of its pen and mooed happily at the farmer.

The farmer grinned and walked up to the calf. Behind him, five farm hands trudged to the door wearily. One of them groaned. "Doesn't the boss know that it's only six in the morning? Why must he be so loud so early?"

The farmer bent down and scratched the calf behind the ears. "How is my favorite animal today?" he cooed.

The calf mooed energetically. The calf was a Holstein bull calf (A/N: Those black and white dairy cows). He was almost a year old and was spoiled rotten by the farmer. The farmer told everyone he met that his calf was going to be a prize winning bull one day.

The farmhands came up behind the farmer. "Boss, if you spoil him too much he's not going to grow up to be a proper bull."

"That's not true!" pouted the farmer. "Lambo is going become strong and fearless! Isn't that right Lambo?"

Lambo mooed.

All the farmhands just sighed in response and began herding out all the animals towards the fields. The farmer led out Lambo himself. He patted Lambo on the head fondly before running off to do the other chores.

Lambo frolicked in the fields and tried to play with the other cows. The cows ignored him and continued grazing. Lambo went off and started wandering around the pen.

Soon, midday rolled around. The farmers decided to take a short break and sat on the fence of the fields. They all drank beer and looked out into the distance.

"Looks like there's going to be a storm soon." commented one of the hands as black clouds appeared over the horizon.

"The weatherman said that it was going to be a thunderstorm." said another.

There was a collective groan. "I hope it doesn't bring a flash flood."

"Or a hail storm. I hate hail storms. Remember the one from last year? I was almost killed by a piece of hail the size of a tennis ball!"

"What if one of the lightning causes a fire? Then we'll really be screwed."

"Hey, knock it off will ya? You're going to jinx it."

Everyone mumbled apologies. Suddenly, the boss stood up and squinted across the fields. "Looks like we got company."

Everyone turned and frowned as a group of black sedans rolled down the dusty road towards the farm. They got off the fence and waited for the cars to pull up.

Groups of Mafioso climbed out of the vehicles, all holding various weapons. One man carrying a suitcase walked up to the farmer. "Hello good sir! We have come to make business with you."

The farmer glared. "Make it quick."

"The Divorando Famiglia wishes to purchase your farm."

The farmer's mouth dropped open. "They what? !"

"We wish to buy your farm from you. You see, the Family has grown to a unbelievable size. We do not have enough farms to feed our ever growing family."

"You mean you wish to slaughter all of our animals."

"If you want to put it that way, yes."

"I will not sell this farm."

"Are you sure? Not even after this marvelous amount of cash?" The mafioso opened up his suitcase to reveal stacks and stacks of bills. "With this amount of money you could always buy yourself another piece of land."

"I like it here thank you very much."

"Are you sure? I'll even throw you an extra deal. I'll keep quiet about finding you here... previous boss of the Bovino Familigia."

The former boss narrowed his eyes. "So you know."

"Of course I know!" The man said with a smirk. "After all, you were once known for your powerful firearm arsenal. Now, hand over the farm."

"What do you hope to accomplish? Are you looking for our stash of weapons?"

"What else would we be looking for? Would you be so kind as to tell us where you're hiding them?"

"We destroyed them."

There was a long silence. "You lie."

"Do you think of me to be stupid? I wouldn't just leave dangerous weapons lying around for people like you to find them. They are gone, destroyed, non-existent. I have retired from being a mafia boss."

"… Is that so? That's such a shame. Then you no longer have any use. Destroy this farm and slaughter the animals."

The men started to run off towards the fields. Some had already begun setting fire to the farmhouse and barn. Suddenly, shots were fired and some men fell screaming. The leader turned around and saw the Bovino family holding guns.

"What?"

"I told you, we're not stupid. We might not have any of our advanced firearms but we do have the weapons necessary to protect the thing we treasure most. This farm!"

* * *

All the cows jerked their heads toward the farm. They could see smoke rising in the distance. They heard multiple shouts as men in black suits began running in their direction. There was a loud bang and a cow fell down, dead.

The rest became startled and began to stampede away from the running men. Lambo was caught up in the middle of the confusion and followed the herd. The herd trampled down the fence and scattered amongst the forest beyond.

Soon Lambo found himself alone, running deep into shadows of the unknown. Above him, a low rumble signaled the arrival of the thunderstorm.

* * *

Tsuna sighed as he once again found himself staring outside his window. It had been approximately one month since he had taken in Takeshi. His leg had already healed and was now acting like the energetic dog he was.

Also during the month, Tsuna had decided to do some spring cleaning. He had gone through his trunk and found a dusty baseball at the bottom. He smile wistfully, remembering the times when he used to play catch with his father.

Takeshi saw the object in his hand and had started to bark excitedly. From then on, Takeshi was practically glued to the ball.

Hayato had been particularly short tempered and grumpy. He hissed and spat at Takeshi whenever he was too close to him or Tsuna. He and Takeshi took 'fighting like cats and dogs' to a new level, though it was more one sided in Hayato's case.

Tsuna watched the lightning zig zag in the sky and felt the low rumble of the thunder. He listened to the sounds of Hayato's angry snarls and Takeshi's happy barks in the background.

'_Come on Hayato! Baseball is so much fun! When the weather lets up we can play a game! You can be first baseman and I'll be the batter. Tsuna can be the umpire and-'_

'_Will you shut up baseball idiot! I told you, I don't want to play with you! And leave Tsuna-sama alone!'_

'_Haha! I've been promoted from mutt to baseball idiot!'_

Tsuna continued staring out towards the forest. The storm had arrived around noon and had continued on until the evening. Presently, it was late at night and outside was pitch black. The wind blew violently, making a whistling sound.

The whole area was lit by a brief flash of lightning and Tsuna saw something black appear near the cabin. Tsuna fell off his chair with a loud 'hieee!'. Hayato and Takeshi looked up from their arguement and ran to Tsuna's side.

'_What happened Tsuna?'_

"_Tsuna-sama! Are you alright? You're not hurt are you?'_

Tsuna rubbed the back of his head, embarassed. "I'm okay." he assured the animals. Suddenly, he heard something that sounded like a low moo above the wind. He stood up and looked outside again.

The lightning flashed and Tsuna saw the black shape again. This time, he took a closer look and realized that the shape kinda looked like a calf. He frowned thoughtfully before going to find his rain coat again.

Before he left the cabin he turned to Takeshi and Hayato. "Stay here, I'll be right back." He ran outside and closed the door behind him.

He held up an arm against his face to block the wind. He continued towards the direction of the shape until he bumped into something fuzzy. Both he and the fuzzy shape let out a startled cry and jumped away from each other.

The lightning flashed again and Tsuna saw the calf. The calf was about to run away when Tsuna grabbed it around the neck with both his arms. "It's okay! Come here! My house is this way!"

The calf protested loudly before jumping at the loud rumble of thunder. Scared witless, he allowed Tsuna to lead him to the cabin.

Hayato and Takeshi looked up in shock as the front door opened and a calf stepped into the cabin.

'_Where did that stupid cow come from! ?'_

'_Cool! I've never seen a cow up close before!'_

The calf shied away from the animals and retreated to a far corner. Tsuna closed the door behind him and hung up his coat. He pulled up a chair in front of the scared animal, sat down, and held out his hand. "It's okay," he coaxed, "I'm not going to hurt you."

The calf stared at Tsuna fearfully before inching closer towards his outstretched hand. Tsuna scratched the it behind the ears. The calf calmed down and satdown on the floor, resting its head on Tsuna's lap.

Takeshi crept up next to Tsuna and sniffed the calf experimentally. Hayato glared at the calf angrily.

"I wonder where he came from."

'_Maybe he got lost!'_

"He probably got lost. Is there a farm nearby somewhere... no, the farm isn't there anymore." Tsuna stared at the calf sadly. "You don't have a home but you can stay here if you want to."

The calf looked up at Tsuna with glistening eyes. Tsuna smiled down at the calf. He caught sight of a small yellow tag on the calf's ear and looked at it.

"So your name is Lambo. Hello Lambo, my name is Sawada Tsunayoshi but I prefer Tsuna."

'Moo!'

"Wait here, I'll got get some sheets for you to sleep on." Tsuna stood up and went to find some sheets. He had barely taken two steps when he tripped. Over _nothing_. He fell flat on his face with a loud thud."O-ow..."

Lambo stared. _'Gyahaha! I shall call you Dame-Tsuna!'_

"I'm okay Lambo..."

'_Stupid cow! Don't call Tsuna-sama names!'_

'_I don't have to listen to you Bakadera! You shall be my servant and call me Lambo-sama!'_

'_Like hell I'm going to call you that stupid cow! And where the heck did that weird nickname even come from! ?'_

'_Hahaha, nice to meet you Lambo! I'm Takeshi!'_

'_You'll become Lambo-sama's servant too!'_

'_Tsuna-sama! Kick out this stupid cow and baseball idiot!'_

* * *

**A/N: Divorando Famiglia – Devouring Family**

**Dame-Tsuna – Useless (No Good) Tsuna**

**I had to do some extensive research on cows while doing this chapter. Did you know that apples could kill cows? I didn't know that! You learn something new everyday. :D**


	5. Sun

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**A/N: Gaaah, Ryohei gave me writer's block for a while. Do you know how hard it is to write about a character who is supposed to be really dense and simple-minded? Also, now I really don't like kangaroos.**

"Blah" – normal speech by humans

'_Blah' _– speech by animals (animal sounds to humans)

* * *

Sun

A tall, buff man strolled down the hall to a room with a star on it. He opened the door and greeted the occupant inside. "Today's the day, champ! Are you ready to win a championship?"

The champ, a white kangaroo, punched the air in excitement. It wore red boxing gloves and had a strip of bandage on the bridge of its nose.

The trainer was once a legendary boxing champion. Now, in his old age, he was a coach. Before, none of his previous students had lived up to his expectations. The kangaroo, which he found wandering around in the forest one day, made the ideal boxer.

He did not know why the kangaroo was wandering around on the streets or where it came from, but he did not care. He had his dream student. They had trained together and won many different boxing tournaments. This was their fifth one.

The man went out of the room and led the kangaroo towards the ring. When they emerged from the red curtain, a large crowd greeted them enthusiastically. They both raised their fists and greeted the crowd in return.

The kangaroo hopped ahead and jumped into the ring. His opponent, an extremely muscular man, stood in the opposite corner. The two approached the center of the ring and raised their guards.

The opponent smirked. "Your winning streak ends today, champ."

The kangaroo answered back with blazing eyes. The referee stood between them and eyed each fighter closely. He held up one hand, paused, and brought it down sharply. "Start!"

Before the boxer could even blink, the kangaroo became a blur of jabs, uppercuts, and punches. The boxer panicked briefly and tightened his guard. His efforts were but in vain, the kangaroo's attacks came too fast and quick. He was down before the three minutes were up.

The referee blew his whistle and ruled a knockout. The crowd cheered loudly and money was passed around. The kangaroo's trainer leapt up into the ring and threw an arm around the kangaroo. The kangaroo punched the air again in victory.

In the crowd, a man in a black suit disappeared out the door.

The trainer and the kangaroo returned to the resting room. The man sat in a chair while the kangaroo practiced his punches. "Haha! You were great out there! That guy didn't even stand a chance!"

The kangaroo punched the air again in agreement. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. The trainer looked at the door with a frown. "Come in."

The door opened and five men in suits stepped inside. "So this is the champ we've all been hearing about!" said one of the men, a large grin spreading across his face. "You are a very fine animal. I am greatly impressed by your boxing skills." He turned back to the trainer. "I heard that you were once a legendary boxing champion as well. You have a fine student."

"Thanks" The trainer eyed the man warily. "What is it that you want?"

"Ah, where are my manners? I am the representative of the Bugiardo Famiglia. We wish to recruit your student. For the good of the country of course."

"My student is not for sale. Get lost."

"But sir, your student would be a great asset against fighting those cruel, uncivilized families. We will free the poor, suppressed common people and create a world where everyone can live in piece!"

"Bullshit. I'm sure you're not called the Bugiardo Famiglia for nothing. I'll never hand over my precious student over to animals like you."

"How ironic," chuckled the man. "You call us animals when your student is an animal itself."

"He's much more civilized than you will ever be."

"...That's a shame then. I guess we'll have to take him by force." His men all pulled out semi-automatic machine guns. The grin suddenly turned sadistic. "I shall have fun breaking him."

There was a flash of white and the kangaroo punched the guns out of everyone's hands. The trainer quickly knocked them onto the ground. When the way was clear, he turned to the kangaroo. "Let's go!"

Both the kangaroo and the trainer ran out the door for the exit. The mafioso groaned and pulled out his cell phone. "They're escaping out one of the exits. Capture the kangaroo at all costs. Take no hostages."

* * *

The man and the kangaroo ran through the halls of the building towards one of the emergency exits. The pushed open the door with a loud slam and found themselves face-to-face with three black sedans. Their doors were open and black suited men stood behind them, their guns aimed at the boxers.

"Capture the animal!" The men began shooting tranquilizer darts at the boxers. The man lept in front of the kangaroo and took all of the darts. The kangaroo hissed and tried to get around the trainer to attack the men.

"Escape quickly! I'll hold them off!" shouted his teacher.

The kangaroo shook its head stubbornly.

"Hurry!"

The kangaroo made a powerful leap and jumped onto the roof of one of the cars. Then, it jumped off and disappeared down the alley way.

The men cursed loudly. "Get that stupid animal!"

Some of the men jumped into their cars and began driving away after the escaping marsupial. One of the men who hadn't left walked over to the semi-conscious former boxing champion. He pointed his gun at his head. "Addio bastardo"

* * *

The sun shone brightly in the sky and the day was warm. Tsuna decided that today would be a good day to do his laundry.

He clipped another piece of laundry to the line hanging between two trees. At his feet was a small basket filled with wet articles of clothing. Behind him, he could hear the sounds of his animals friends playing in the distance.

'_Gyahaha! You're too small to catch Lambo-sama Bakadera!'_

'_Get back here you stupid cow! I'm going to get you for that!'_

'_Hahaha! You're it Hayato!'_

'_We're not playing tag, baseball idiot!'_

Tsuna yelped loudly when Lambo came crashing into him. Tsuna groaned as he pushed himself up and Lambo butted him none too gently with his head.

'_Play with Lambo-sama, Dame-Tsuna!'_

'_Stupid cow can't you see that Tsuna-sama is busy! Stop bothering him!'_

'_Lambo-sama wants Dame-Tsuna to play!'_

'_Let's play baseball!'_

Tsuna patted Lambo on the head. "I have to finish putting up the laundry first. Go play somewhere else while I finish."

'_Lambo-sama wants Dame-Tsuna to play now!'_

'_Hey Lambo! I see something over there! Let's go look!'_

Takeshi dashed off into the woods, barking in excitement. Hayato and Lambo quickly followed after the dog. Then, the sounds of the animals became silent. Tsuna became worried and went into the direction they had disappeared.

"Guys? Where did you go?" He spotted the three animals up ahead and ran to catch up to them. "Hey, why are you so silent-"

Tsuna looked up and saw what the three were staring at. Sitting in front of him was a snow white kangaroo wearing red boxing gloves. Tsuna's mouth fell open in disbelief.

'_Hayato, what is that? I've never seen an animal like that before.'_

'_That's a kangaroo baseball idiot!'_

'_Kanga...roo? What's that? It looks funny!'_

'_Gyahaha! Lambo-sama will make it into his servant!'_

"A...albino kangaroo?" Where did it come from? Tsuna was pretty sure there were no wild kangaroos living in the forest. Suddenly, the kangaroo sprung up and began making coughing sounds.

'_Who are you to the EXTREME?'_

'_Oh great, another idiot.'_

'_Hello kangaroo! My name is Takeshi! That's Hayato and Lambo! Where did you come from?'_

'_I don't EXTREMELY know how I got here!'_

"Ah, you're injured!" Tsuna pointed at the kangaroo's side, the spot of red clearly defined on the animal's white fur. "Come on, I have bandages in my cabin." Tsuna started to head towards the cabin.

The four animals followed after Tsuna. When they reached the small abode, they waited outside for Tsuna to find the bandages. The boy returned back to the animals and dressed the injury.

When he was done, the kangaroo inspected the bandage. Then, it punched the air. _'Thanks EXTREMELY nice person!'_

"I'm glad you're okay now. I wonder how you got here in the first place..."

'_I was at an EXTREME boxing match!'_

'_You are a boxer? Haha, I like sports too!'_

'_We should be EXTREME friends!'_

'_Great, I have to deal with two sports idiots now!'_

'_Who are you EXTREMELY calling an idiot, octopus head?'_

'_You! And I'm not an octopus! I'm a cat!'_

'_I think you EXTREMELY look like an octopus!'_

'_Then you look like a piece of grass! Stupid turf top!'_

'_I am not grass to the EXTREME!'_

Hayato and the kangaroo continued arguing with each other. Takeshi just listened and laughed along. Tsuna returned to putting up laundry.

After a good ten minutes, Tsuna had finally put up the last of his laundry. He smiled happily to himself and turned to check up on the animals. Hayato and the kangaroo were still arguing with Takeshi watching them. Tsuna frowned when he did not see Lambo.

He looked left and right but did not see the calf. "Hey, where did Lambo go?"

The animals turned and finally realized that the annoying cow was missing. Suddenly, there was a loud, panicked moo from the forest. Tsuna paled and ran towards where he had heard the sound. Takeshi, Hayato, and the kangaroo ran after him.

Lambo had gotten bored with listening to the arguing animals and so decided to go exploring by himself. While he was exploring, he came across a small patch of grapes. He immedietely began eating the whole patch, because grapes were his favorite.

Halfway through, he heard a low growl from behind him. He looked behind slowly and found himself face to face with a very angry bear.

The patch belonged to the bear, and Lambo was going to be its lunch.

Lambo trembled fearfully as the bear towered over him, one swipe could easily break the poor calf's neck.

"Lambo!" shouted Tsuna fearfully when he reached the patch. "Get away from him!"

The bear paused and turned to look at the boy. Tsuna gulped at the sight of it's blood red eyes. Lambo remained frozen with fear. The bear then turned back to its to be meal and prepared to kill Lambo.

His mind racing, Tsuna looked around frantically for something, anything, that could destract the blood carniverous animal. Suddenly, he saw a rock the size of his fist. He grabbed it and threw it at the bear. Whether it was due to Tsuna's unluck streak or chance, the rock hit the bear in the back of its head. Dead center.

The bear roared, clearly enraged by the offensive move, and changed its target to Tsuna. Tsuna yelped in fear and scrambled out of the bear's swiping range. The crazed animal was now hell-bent on making Tsuna pay, with his very life.

Tsuna ran backwards and, with his clumsiness, was able to dodge the multiple slashes. Unfortunately, his 'luckiness' ended there when he tripped over a rock and landed on his face. He rolled over onto his back in time to see the bear rearing back to smash both its claws into Tsuna.

Tsuna cried out softly and held up his arms in a vain attempt to block his imminent death. When no blow came, Tsuna peeked past his arms. He saw white blur come from the right and punch the bear right in the face, making in tumble off to the side.

'_EXTREME!'_

'_Tsuna/Tsuna-sama!'_

Takeshi and Hayato ran to Tsuna's side and checked him for injuries. Tsuna watched the bear stand up at its full height try to intimidate the kangaroo. The kangaroo was unfazed by the act. In fact, the show of aggressiveness only seemed to excite it more.

'_You make an EXTREME opponent! I will defeat you to the EXTREME!'_

It lunged forward, unleashing a barrage of punches against the bear. The bear staggered and attempted to slash the annoying pest. While the bear had an advantage in power, the kangaroo had an advantage in agility.

It easily dodged every one of the bear's attacks, while at the same time landing painful hits. Finally, the bear seemed to tire and decided to retreat. It went back on all fours and ran away into the forest.

The kangaroo punched the air with flaming eyes. _'Let's have an EXTREME rematch next time!'_

Tsuna had watched the entire fight while sitting on the floor with his mouth open. He sat there for another good two minutes before a mixture of barks, meows, and moos brought him back to reality.

'_Hahaha! The kangaroo was really strong!'_

'_Gyahaha, Dame-Tsuna looks like a fish!'_

'_Tsuna-sama! Are you unhurt? That stupid bear didn't hurt you did it?'_

Tsuna hugged Lambo in relief. "I'm glad you're okay. Did you get hurt anywhere?"

'_That bear was no match for Lambo-sama's awesomeness!'_

'_Stupid cow you didn't do anything! If it wasn't for Tsuna-sama and Turf top you would have been that bear's lunch!'_

'_Shut up Bakadera! You're just jelous of Lambo-sama!'_

'_Like hell I am!'_

'_Hahaha, are we playing another game?'_

While the three animals began arguing amongst each other, Tsuna went over to the kangaroo. "T-thank you for saving me earlier. If you hadn't come in time, Lambo and I wouldn't be alive."

'_You're EXTREMELY welcome!'_

"Are you going to go back to where you came from?"

The kangaroo seemed to think very hard on that question. Then, it shook its head.

"Do you have somewhere to return to at least?"

The kangaroo shook its head again.

"... If you want you can stay with us until you figure out where to go next."

'_I would EXTREMELY like to stay with you! You are an EXTREMELY nice person!'_

"My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi, but I prefer Tsuna."

'_I am EXTREMELY glad to meet you Sawada!'_

"Do you have a name? If not, can I call you Ryohei?"

'_Ryohei sounds like an EXTREME name!'_

'_Hahaha, senpai is going to stay with us Hayato!'_

'_Turf top will be Lambo-sama's servant!'_

'_You're going to make everyone deaf by the end of this week Turf Top!'_

"Let's all return back home, ne?"

* * *

**A/N:** **Bugiardo ****Famiglia – Liar Family**

**I want to make something clear about Ryohei. Ryohei is not an albino kangaroo, but a leucistic kangaroo. I'll explain why.**

**Albinism -**** a congenital disorder characterized by the complete or partial absence of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes due to absence or defect of an enzyme involved in the production of melanin.**

**Animals with albinism are weak against sunlight because they lack melanin, which blocks the UV rays of the sun. This would seem inappropriate for Ryohei, who is the Sun guardian.**

**Leucism - a condition characterized by reduced pigmentation in animals. Unlike albinism, it is caused by a reduction in all types of skin pigment, not just melanin.**

**In other words, pigment is affected (color) but the animal can still retain its melanin. Not all leucistic animals are weak against the sun.**

**Truthfully, I had a hard time understanding the difference between the two. I might not even be totally right about the difference between albinism and leucism, but I tried. Sorry if the a/n seems really long. Wow, for a simple-minded character Ryohei needed quite a lot of researching. -_-"**


	6. Cloud

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**A/N: I watched some Katekyo Hitman Reborn drama cds (on youtube) earlier in the week in hopes of better understanding the characters and hearing their voices (I don't really watch the anime). I saw Day One Observation of Hibari Kyoya… and now I want my own Hibird. So. Freak'n. CUTE.**

"Blah" – normal speech by humans

'_Blah' _– speech by animals (animal sounds to humans)

* * *

Cloud

A tall Chinese man wearing purple, Chinese robe sat against a tree. At his side sat a pair of wooden tonfas. Above him, a flock of yellow birds sat amongst the branches, chirping and singing in their high pitched voices.

The man was a wanderer. He had no permanent home, choosing to wander in the mountains and enjoy the beauties of nature. Once, he was a renowned fighter. Many had feared his skills with the tonfa. Now, he merely wished to live a peaceful life without violence.

In the years he spent drifting about, he had somehow gained a small flock of birds. The man could not clearly remember how or when the birds had begun to follow him, but he did not mind. He rather enjoyed their singing.

One yellow bird separated from the flock and landed on the head of the Asian man.

"Wolf! Wolf!" chirped the bird.

The man smiled up at the bird. "You certainly have gotten rather attached to the wolf, haven't you?"

A few months ago, while traveling through the forest, the man had decided to rest. He had been sitting against a tree, much like the one he was resting against now. While he was resting, a black wolf had emerged from the forest.

Without hesitation, the beast attacked the man. The man himself easily defeated the wolf with his tonfas. The wolf returned every day after for a rematch. Apparently, the wolf had a very strong sense of pride and refused to believe it had lost to a mere human.

One month before, one of the birds had wandered off by itself into the forest. The next day, it returned riding on the head of the wolf. He did not know how the bird had gotten so attached to the wolf. Perhaps it felt that the canine was lonely.

The bird had also returned with a brand new song, something about a Namimori middle school. He wasn't sure where the bird had learned the song, but he enjoyed listening to it nevertheless.

Suddenly, the birds stopped singing and began chirping nervously. The yellow bird retreated back to the trees and the man stood up warily. The bushes rustled briefly, and then a group of men in black suits came out.

"Ah, I see that our sources were correct. For once." smirked one of the men.

"May I ask what is your business with me?" questioned the man calmly.

"We've been looking for recruits for our family, the Gabbia Famiglia. We heard that there was a famous fighter wandering in the mountains and we decided to offer you a place in our ranks."

"I rather enjoy traveling amongst the forest. Besides, I have lost my touch with my weapons. I would be of no help to your family."

"Are you sure? How about I rephrase the question. Join or die."

"You are quite a rude person. I have no wish to follow you anywhere."

The man shrugged. "It's your funeral."

* * *

The wolf loped through the trees nimbly. Its black coat helped it merged seamlessly with the shadows of the forest. Its eyes glowed with eager bloodlust.

The wolf thought of itself as the protector of the forest. It ruled the forest and crushed any who dared disturb the peace. All animals below it were considered as herbivores, not even worth its time.

And then it had been defeated by the human and his weapons. When the wolf was defeated, its blood boiled at the prospect of a strong opponent. He was not a herbivore, but an omnivore. The wolf relished the thought of someone who could finally give it a challenge.

While the wolf thought of the omnivore, its thoughts began to drift to the bird that had grown attached to it. The wolf had found the bird when it had wandered within vicinity of his den, just before going on its usual patrol. It had growled and warned the bird off, like it would any other animal.

Instead of cowering and fleeing, the bird had perched on its head. The wolf was surprised, not knowing whether to think the bird as very brave or very foolish. Instead of chasing off the bird, the wolf decided to continue its daily patrol around the forest.

One of the places the wolf passed on its patrol was an old, abandoned school building. There had once been a small village; but when the Vongola had fallen, the village was one of many to be destroyed.

Inside the school were various abandoned papers and books. While the wolf went to patrol around the building, the bird had gone inside. When the wolf returned back to the front of the building, it heard the bird singing a song.

Curious, the wolf went into the building and found that the bird had learned to sing a song that was written on one of the papers. After that, the anthem was all that the bird would sing. Oddly enough, the wolf was not bothered by the song or the bird's singing and let it sing the school anthem all the way back to its flock.

Back to the present, the wolf could smell the man's scent on the wind. Then, it froze. The man's scent wasn't the only one it could smell.

There was blood too.

The wolf dashed towards the location of the man. The forest became a blur of green. Soon, it heard the sounds of voices, many unknown voices, and the alarmed shrieks of the birds. The wolf burst out of the brush into the brightness of the sun.

It saw many men in black suits. It saw various yellow feathers strewed all over the floor. It saw the beaten body of the man, lying in a pool of blood on the floor. It saw the man's tonfas, broken into little splinters.

Three thoughts raced through the wolf's mind. The first thought was that these despicable herbivores were disturbing the peace of its forest. The second was that they had taken its prey. The third was that the herbivores were going to be _bitten to death._

In the span of a second, the wolf tore out the throats of the nearest men. Their screams of pain echoed throughout the forest, followed by the beyond livid snarls of the wolf. The leader of the men began shouting orders to kill the beast.

All outside noises were blocked out. The wolf only wanted to kill these worthless herbivores who dare steal its prey, who dare defile its forest, who dare think that they could be enough to take down the strongest beast of the forest.

It felt multiple bullets pieirce and graze its body, but felt no pain. It continued until its entire body was covered in blood, from both its enemies and itself. Then, it heard a loud, pained chirp.

"Wolf! Wolf!"

The wolf stopped in its rampage and turned its head towards the source of the sound. It spotted the yellow bird, sitting at the base of the tree. Spots of red shone against its bright colored feathers.

Without hesitation, the wolf changed direction and lunged at the bird. It quickly crouched next to the bird, allowing it to attach itself to the back of its neck, before dashing away into the forest. It heard the shouts of the herbivores behind it but did not look back.

The sun disappeared behind a curtain of clouds and the world became dark.

* * *

Tsuna sat at the base of a tree, relaxing in a rare moment of free time. He watched Ryohei and Lambo run around in circles on the grass. Takeshi sat on Tsuna's left and Hayato sat on his right.

'_Gyahaha! Turf top will never be able to catch Lambo-sama!'_

'_EXTREME exercise!'_

'_Turf top and stupid cow are too loud...'_

'_Hahaha! Looks like fun!'_

Suddenly, the whole area became dark. Everyone looked up and saw that a large group of clouds was blocking the sun. Tsuna stared at them a bit longer and decided that they weren't rain clouds. Then, the wind picked up and caused Tsuna to shiver from the sudden chill.

'_Gupyaa! Lambo-sama thinks that the wind is too cold!'_ Lambo ran over to Tsuna and buried his head into Tsuna's chest. Tsuna let out an 'oomph' as the air was squeezed out of his lungs.

'_Stupid cow! You're hurting Tsuna-sama! Get off!'_

'_Nyahaha! Bakadera can't tell Lambo-sama what to do! You are just Lambo-sama's servant!'_

'_Why you-'_

Suddenly, all the animals froze and lifted their heads. Tsuna felt a shiver down his spine and looked around, startled. "What is it?"

Then, he heard a faint chirp. Tsuna stood up slowly and followed the sound into the forest. Lambo, Ryohei, Takeshi, and Hayato followed behind warily. When he finally reached the location of the chirp, he gasped.

A very beaten wolf stared back at Tsuna with eyes glowing with bloodlust and anger. Tsuna's eyes drifted over its body. The wolf's fur was matted with blood, the dark color of the fur made it hard to see the extent of its injuries.

Tsuna's eyes landed on a small yellow ball with red splotches that sat on the wolf's head. The ball moved and two black eyes and a beak stared out at the boy. He could also see that the bird was hurt too.

The wolf snarled at the boy. Tsuna gulped nervously at the sight of its sharp teeth. Takeshi and Hayato placed themselves in front of Tsuna, while Ryohei stood next to him and Lambo hid behind.

"Herbivore! Herbivore!"

Tsuna stared at the bird. Had it just called him a herbivore? Tsuna stared at the injuries of both animals for a short while, and then he ran back to the cabin. His entourage of animals followed behind him, making confused sounds as he went.

'_Tsuna, are you going to help the wolf?'_

'_You should leave the dangerous beast alone Tsuna-sama!'_

'_I EXTREMELY agree with Octopus head!'_

'_Lambo-sama isn't scared of a stupid wolf!'_

Tsuna found a basin and filled it up with water. He took out a towel and threw it into the basin. He took out a few rolls of bandages and carried all the supplies back to the wolf.

The wolf watched the boy return back with the objects. It growled again when the boy came too close. Tsuna froze and crouched down in front of the wolf. He motioned for the rest of the animals to stay back.

'_Tsuna-sama! That wolf is too dangerous!'_

'_You should be careful to the EXTREME Sawada!'_

"P-please let me t-treat your injuries."

The wolf bared its teeth at the pathetically weak creature in front of him. It did not need the help of useless herbivores.

"C-could I at least h-help your f-friend?"

The wolf stopped and seemed to ponder the suggestion. The bird was quite hurt.

"I-I'll be really c-careful..."

The wolf snorted and growled at the bird. The bird looked down at the wolf, and then at the boy.

"Herbivore! Help! Help!"

The bird flapped its wings and made a wobbly path towards Tsuna. Tsuna caught the bird in his hands and began dripping water on it. When he had finished washing the blood off, he wrapped up the injuries.

"Is that better?"

The bird inspected the bandages before turning to look up at the boy. "Thank you! Thank you! Wolf! Wolf!"

Tsuna looked at the wolf nervously. "P-please let me treat your wounds. I w-won't leave until you d-do."

The wolf glared at the boy for a long time. Finally, it growled softly before turning its head away.

"I-is that a yes?"

The wolf let out a warning growl and the boy scrambled to wash off the blood. After a good ten minutes, the wolf's fur was mostly cleaned of the blood. Multiple bandages covered its wounds. When Tsuna finished wrapping the last injury, the wolf stood up abruptly.

"Ah! Wai-"

The wolf silenced Tsuna with a glare and limped away back into the forest. The bird followed after the wolf while singing what sounded like a school anthem. The four animal companions went up to Tsuna and gave him a once over.

'_Tsuna-sama! That wolf bastard didn't hurt you or anything did it?'_

'_You sure are a lucky person Tsuna!'_

'_You are an EXTREMELY brave person Sawada!'_

'_Dame-Tsuna! Lambo-sama is hungry!'_

"I'm okay, guys!" he assured the (mostly) fretting animals. He looked back in the direction where the wolf had disappeared. "He probably won't go far with those injuries. Anyways, let's go back. I'll make you guys dinner."

The animals cheered and raced each other back to the cabin. Tsuna looked behind him once more, and then he ran after the hungry animals.

* * *

Tsuna woke up with a start later that night. He blinked owlishly and sat up. Ryohei snored loudly in one corner of the cabin, Lambo slept next to the bed, Takeshi slept at the end of the bed, and Hayato slept next to Tsuna.

Tsuna looked around the cabin and wondered what had woken him up. Carefully, he climbed out of bed without disturbing Takeshi, Hayato, or Lambo. He tiptoed across the floor to the door. He carefully opened it and looked down.

Sitting directly in front of the door was a small bottle of what appeared to be pills. Tsuna picked up the bottle carefully and brought it inside. He examined the bottle critically, trying not to rattle the pills inside. On the bottle was a label.

Tsuna read the label, and then looked at the bottle in shock. The label said 'Dying Will pills'. Dying Will pills were a largely sought after item in the mafia world. Swallowing two pills allowed the user to enter Hyper Dying Will mode, a very powerful state where the person was able to use dying will flames.

Not many people were able to use dying will flames. Normal mafioso were usually used as foot soldiers or meat shields. Users of the dying will flames were considered important weapons, meant to be horded like gold and diamonds.

Tsuna remembered that his grandfather had once told him that he had a powerful flame. He promised Tsuna that he would one day teach him to harness that flame. Sadly, Nono was no longer alive.

However, Tsuna was not entirely distraught over the lack of a mentor. He may not have someone to teach him how to harness the dying will, but he was confident in his hyper intuition. He was sure that he would be able to figure everything out eventually.

Tsuna slipped the bottle into the pocket of his sweater, which hung on the back of a chair, and climbed back into bed. He drifted back to sleep and dreamed of rainbow colored flames.

* * *

The next morning went on like usual. Tsuna made breakfast, Lambo was complaining about useless things, Ryohei was being his noisy self, Takeshi was laughing at everyone's antics, and Hayato was yelling at everyone. Tsuna smiled at the sight. He remembered the three years when he woke up to an empty cabin and ate breakfast alone. Now, his home was lively and filled with energy.

Just as breakfast finished, a loud knock sounded at one of the windows. Tsuna turned his head and was surprised to find the yellow canary bird at the window. He went over and pushed open the window.

Immediately, the bird flew in and landed on Tsuna's head. "Herbivore! Help! Help!"

"What is it? Are you hurt?" Tsuna looked up at the bird, worried.

"Bear! Bear! Attack! Wolf!"

The moment the word 'attack' was heard, Tsuna was already out the door. The bird flew into the forest and led Tsuna to where it had last seen the wolf. Tsuna heard his friends calling behind him, but he did not slow down. All he could think about were the wolf's injuries and the enemy it faced.

Finally, Tsuna burst into a clearing and found himself on a scene that could have been akin to a battlefield. Many of the trees had large slash marks where the bear had missed the wolf. Deep furrows were everwhere and various broken vegetation littered the ground.

In the middle of the clearing, the wolf and the bear battled ferociously. Tsuna could see the wolf's wounds reopening, blood staining the white bandages. The wolf also seemed to be breathing heavily. On the other hand, the bear didn't even look like it was using even half its strength to fight the wolf. In fact, it seemed to be toying with it.

Tsuna took a closer look at the bear and realized that this was the same bear that had attacked him and Lambo.

"Help! Help!"

Tsuna snapped his head and looked at the bird with wide eyes, and then he looked at the bear. There was no way Tsuna would be able to take down the bear. He'd be lucky to even lay a scratch on it! He turned around but could not find any of his animal companions.

He had run too fast and had lost his friends in the forest. There was a loud roar and Tsuna turned back to the fight. He saw the bear land a glancing blow on the wolf, making blood splurt out of its shoulder. The wolf snarled angrily and backed up against a tree.

Tsuna panicked as the bear raised itself on its hind legs, preparing to land the finishing blow. Tsuna grabbed a broken branch that lay of the floor and ran at the bear. He put all his weight into the stick and shoved the pointed part into the bear's back.

The bear roared in pain and swatted at Tsuna. Tsuna was sent flying across the clearing with a pained cry. He skidded across the floor and slammed into the trunk of a tree with a thud. His eyesight went black for a brief second and he laid stunned on his back.

Painfully, he pushed himself up in time to see the bear begin charging at him. By the raw anger in its eyes, it was clear that the bear had not forgotten him. Tsuna quickly rolled to the side, avoiding the rampaging beast.

He felt the tree shake violently as the bear hit the trunk head on. Tsuna scrambled away from the bear before turning to face the it. The bear started shaking itself roughly to clear its head.

Tsuna's mind raced. There was nothing he could do. Ryohei wasn't here to save him this time. The wolf was in no shape to be fighting a perfectly healthy, enraged bear. Tsuna _clearly _had no chance of defeating the bear by himself.

"Wolf! Wolf!"

Tsuna looked behind him and saw the bird fluttering frantically over the wolf. The wolf staggered to its feet painfully and looked up at the bird in a daze of pain. Tsuna felt a sharp pain in his chest as the image of a dead wolf and bird flashed through his mind.

He turned back to the bear, which had regained its bearings. It turned back to Tsuna and roared a bone chilling roar. Tsuna stuck both hands into his pockets, and then pulled them out.

In one hand sat the bottle of dying will pills. In the other, the pair of mittens from months ago. Then, it was like a lightbulb went off in Tsuna's head. Could it be? Was that what they were for?

The bear began to charge again; its massive jaws were wide open, revealing rows of sharp teeth. Quickly, Tsuna pulled on the mittens and swallowed two of the pills.

He exploded into a mass of orange flames.

The bear skidded to an abrupt halt and backed away from the flames warily. The wolf stared in confusion at the spot where the weak herbivore once stood. Slowly, the flames subsided. The wolf felt a strong, overwhelming aura flowing off the once herbivore.

Tsuna stood in front of the bear, changed. An orange flame hovered in front of his head and his eyes had changed from a chocolate brown to a blazing orange. His eyes, once wide and filled with fear, were now narrowed and brimming with confidence.

His hands were covered with orange flames. The mittens had changed into a pair of black, metal-clad gloves with an X on the back. He stared down at his hands with wide eyes as he looked at the sky flames. Then, he turned his gaze towards the bear.

The bear snarled at the boy. It watched the burning boy warily. Suddenly, he disappeared from its sight. The bear growled in confusion and glanced around. The powerful aura appeared behind it and the bear turned in time to see the boy's fist come flying at its face. The bear skidded backwards and roared in pain.

Tsuna wasted no time and propelled himself forward towards the bear. He gave it a swift kick across the head and then punched the bear directly in the chest. The bear was sent crashing through the trees.

The bear staggered to its feet, its body now covered in burns and wounds. Wisely, it backed away from the clearing into the forest. It did not have in mind to return back to this particular part of the forest.

Tsuna sighed in relief. The sky flames disappeared and Tsuna was left with mittens again. He pulled them off and shoved them back into his pocket. He heard a loud crash behind him and spun around in time to see his animals friends burst out of the brush towards him.

'_Tsuna-sama! I finally found you!'_

'_That was a pretty cool fight Tsuna!'_

'_You were EXTREME Sawada!'_

'_Dame-Tsuna left behind Lambo-sama!'_

Tsuna's eyes bulged as all the animals suddenly tackled him to the ground. He laughed as they all made a loud ruckus.

The wolf stared at the boy. It felt disappointment when the powerful aura disappeared and the herbivorous aura returned. The wolf felt a slight shiver when it thought about the power the herbivore had displayed earlier. The wolf wanted to fight the omnivore from earlier.

"Wolf! Wolf!"

The wolf stared up at the bird. _'I'm fine.'_

"Ah, you're injured again!" The herbivore ran up to him and pulled out a spare roll of bandages he always kept with him.

The wolf let the herbivore treat its injuries while it thought. The herbivore interested him. He was strong, and the wolf lived to defeat strong opponents. The herbivore would be its prey. After it completely healed of course.

"You should stay nearby so that I can change your bandages."

'_Hn'_

"I-I'll take that as a yes. Well, we should return back to my home so that I can get more bandages for the rest of your wounds. Okay, wolf-sa-"

'_No'_

"W-what? You're g-going to stay here?"

'_No'_

"Then what-"

"Name! Name!"

"Huh? Ah, y-you want a name? Uh… then, can I call you Kyoya?"

'_No'_

"Eh? N-no? Then w-what should I c-call you?"

The wolf looked up at the trees. Tsuna followed its gaze upward.

"Eh? Trees? No… b-birds? Skylark… y-you want to be called H-Hibari?"

'_Hn'_

"O-okay. Hibari, we should-"

A warning growl.

"… Hibari-san?"

'_Hn'_

"H-Hibari-san, lets go back t-to change your b-bandages."

"Herbivore! Name! Name!"

Tsuna looked at the bird, bewildered. "You too?"

"Name!"

"Ano… what should I call you?"

The bird seemed to think briefly. "Hibird!"

Everyone stared at the bird in disbelief. "…Hibird? Ah, okay then. You'll be Hibird."

'_Nice to EXTREMELY meet you, Hibari and Hibird!'_

'_You better not cause Tsuna-sama any trouble!'_

'_Maa maa Hayato, you have to calm down. My name is Takeshi, let's be good friends!'_

'_I am the great Lambo-sama!'_

'_Stop crowding herbivores or I will bite you all to death.'_

"Bite you to death!"

* * *

**A/N: Ano – Errr…**

**Maa maa – Well or so-so**

**Hibari – Skylark in Japanese.**

**Well now… Hibari sure took up a lot of time. This is the longest chapter of the series! I crammed lots of information into this chapter.**

**I'm sorry to anyone who was looking forward to a Hedgehog!Hibari. Based on Hibari's character (and his many 'I'll bite you to death' punch lines) I just didn't think a hedgehog would fit him. I think the hedgehog is supposed to represent the nice, animal loving side of Hibari. A lone wolf fits him more. :D**

**Anyways, had lots of fun making Hibari the epic, blood-thirsty, fighting machine he was meant to be. Leave me a review!**


	7. Mist

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

"Blah" – normal speech by humans

'_Blah' _– speech by animals (animal sounds to humans)

_Thoughts – just in case you didn't know_

* * *

Mist

The lights of the lab shined off various metal surfaces and tools. The room was littered with different machines, wires, and cages filled with live animals.

This was the underground lab of the Estraneo Famiglia.

The Estraneo Famiglia was family made up of researchers and scientists. Long ago, they had been a normal mafia family. One day, they created the possession bullet. When the other families saw this powerful creation, they began to fear the Estraneo.

They saw the bullet as a dangerous weapon against them and, together, hunted down the Estraneo Famiglia. The Estraneo Famiglia went into hiding and continued their cruel experiments, craving vengeance against the other mafia families.

At first, they used their own children in their horrible experiments. After a few years, all their children were killed off. Faced with the lack of subjects, they were forced to turn to animals.

On the far side of the lab were various cages and tanks filled with animals, from monkeys to birds to reptiles. In one of the tanks was an indigo colored snake. Even though it was indigo colored, it was not an Eastern Indigo snake (A/N: native to the U.S. and non-poisonous).

This was a European asp, a snake with a painful and venomous bite. Originally, the snake had been a black color, but after being subjected to numerous experiments its skin gained a bluish hue. The blue mixed with the snake's original black color and created its current color, indigo. If one looked close enough, one would notice the unusual eye color of the snake. The left eye was blue and the right eye was red.

Sitting to the snake was a small, white lab mouse. Originally, it was supposed to be the snake's food, but the snake had decided to keep it alive instead. A few weeks earlier, the snake had been particularly grumpy, having gone through an extra painful experimentation. When the scientist came around to feed the animals, it had dropped the usual white lab mouse into the snake's tank.

When the snake took a closer look at the animal, it was disgusted. The mouse appeared to be half-dead, barely clinging to life. It even looked like it was missing some of its organs. The snake was sure that the wretched scientist had probably toyed with the mouse before giving it to him.

Instead of eating the mouse and putting it out of its misery, the snake decided to test its new abilities on the rodent. It red eye began to glow, and then the mouse gained a set of illusionary organs. The mouse stood up on shaky legs and stared up at its 'savior'. The snake fully expected the mouse to squeak in fear and cower.

Instead, it just sat there in front of it, staring with its large oddly violet eyes.

After that, the two became inseparable. The snake curled around the mouse protectively as it watched a researcher approach its tank. The researcher donned some rubber gloves and reached for the snake. The snake let the human pick it up, knowing fully well that attacking a protected hand only resulted in wasted venom.

The researcher took the snake to another room, which had a metal table and a large glass window that allowed view of the laboratory outside. The moment they placed the snake on the table, the snake began to thrash about violently.

Used to animals revolting, the scientist held down the snake firmly. The snake saw other scientists enter the room. One of them went to one of the strange machines that littered the room and picked up load of wires. The scientists started hooking up the snake to the machine.

The snake felt a jolt of pain and withered in agony. Suddenly, it heard a loud, shrill squeak. It twisted its head and saw another scientist reaching into its tank. The scientist's hand cornered the mouse and closed around it tightly. The serpent could clearly see he mouse in pain, its life practically being squeezed out of it.

When the man held up a scalpel in the other hand above the mouse's head, the snake felt a strong wave of anger. The mouse belonged to the snake alone. No had a right to hurt what belonged to it.

The snake's eye flashed brightly and the scientists screamed in pain. The man holding the snake dropped it onto the metal operation table. The room suddenly changed into a scene that could only be described as _hell_. The door disappeared, and the scientists were left at the mercy of the snake.

* * *

The mouse felt a sharp pain in its right eye and lost vision in that eye shortly after. It gasped painfully in the hand of the man, feeling its small ribs creak from the pressure. Suddenly, it heard shrieks of fear from the room where the men had taken the snake.

The researcher jerked his head towards the room and looked through the large glass window. He began to tremble in fear. In the room he saw the bodies of his colleagues spread out all over the room. One was lying across the operation table with his blood spilling out. Another sat against the wall with a look of sheer terror on his face.

He heard a hiss and looked down at its feet. A pair of mismatched eyes glared back at him. He let go of the mouse quickly and tried to run away from the snake. He did not go far.

The snake created a small pillow and softened the mouse's landing. It slithered up to the mouse and inspected its injuries. The mouse's right eye was squeezed shut and blood dripped from it. Other than the eye, the mouse was mostly fine.

Together, the strange pair of animals left the Estraneo laboratory. And with that, the Estraneo Famiglia ceased to exist.

* * *

Tsuna lay on the grass in the shade of a tree. He gasped painfully and tried to catch his breath. Across from him, Hibari was waiting impatiently for the herbivore to get back up. On the side lines, the animal companions called out encouragements.

'_You can do it Tsuna!'_

'_Beat up that annoying wolf, Tsuna-sama!'_

'_Gyahaha! Dame-Tsuna is too weak!'_

'_EXTREME fighting Sawada!'_

"Hibari! Hibari!"

Tsuna groaned. "No more" he complained. "Let me take a nap."

'_Hn. Herbivore, I'll give you five minutes' _Hibari turned away from the boy and disappeared into the forest to patrol.

"Mi~dori tana~biku~, namimori no~" Hibird flew after the skylark.

Lambo ran up to Tsuna and started tugging on his shirt. _'Dame-Tsuna! Play with Lambo-sama now!'_

Tsuna shrugged off the cow and rolled over. "I'm sleeping, leave me alone." he whined.

'_Stupid cow! Can't you see Tsuna-sama is tired? Leave him alone!'_

'_I'll EXTREMELY play with you Lambo!'_

'_Let's go play baseball!'_

'_Gyahaha! Tag! You're it, Bakadera!'_

'_I'M GOING TO GET YOU FOR THAT STUPID COW!'_

All the animals ran off to play, leaving Tsuna a few moments of peace and quiet. After the fight with the bear, Hibari had stuck around until most of his injuries had healed. The moment the bandages came off, Hibari challenged Tsuna to a fight.

Tsuna discovered that Hibari was a really strong wolf, almost abnormally so. He had no doubt that if Hibari had been at his full strength, the bear wouldn't have stood a chance. Hibari continued to challenge Tsuna everyday after that. At first, Tsuna had been forced to spar with Hibari. Now, he decided that it would be good if he got some practice with his new weapons. After all, he was sure his cabin wouldn't stay a secret forever.

Suddenly, Tsuna felt something cold and wet drift over him. He opened his eyes and watched as a blanket of fog settled over the area. He stood up and looked around nervously.

"Guys? Is anyone there?" The fog was unbelievably thick. He couldn't even see his hand in front of his own face. Tsuna listened carefully and thought he heard his animal friends off in the distance. Cautiously, as so not to trip over a root or something, he made his way towards where he had heard the sounds.

Unfortunately, Tsuna was not only blessed with clumsiness and bad luck, but also with a horrible sense of direction as well. He ended up heading in the direction _completely opposite_ to where his friends were.

Poor Tsuna

* * *

Everyone was still playing and running around when the fog drifted in. Everyone looked around in confusion as everything disappeared in the white haze.

'_Wow! This fog is really thick, isn't it Hayato?'_

'_EXTREME fog!'_

'_Dammit, I can't see anything with this stupid fog!'_

'_Gupyaa! Are we playing hide-and-seek? Dame-Tsuna! Lambo-sama doesn't like this game!'_

'_Ah! That's right! Where's Tsuna?'_

Suddenly, a high pitched voice emerged from the fog eerily. "Mi~dori tana~biku~, namimori no~"

'…_Haha, that's kinda creepy.'_

'… _Lambo-sama doesn't want to play anymore…'_

'_Herbivores'_

'_Gupyaaaa!'_

'_Eh? Hibari, is that you?'_

'_Stop crowding or I'll bite you to death.'_

'_We found you to the EXTREME!'_

'_Stupid wolf! You almost gave me a heart attack!'_

'_Hey Hibari, have you seen Tsuna?'_

Silenced echoed throughout the fog.

'_Uh… hello?'_

'_No'_

'_I guess that means we're going to have to find Tsuna. I know! We can play a new game! First one to find Tsuna wins!'_

'_I will EXTREMELY find Sawada first!' _Ryohei hopped away in a random direction, leaving behind an echoing EXTREEEME!

'_Like hell I'm going to let that Turf Top win! I'll find Tsuna-sama!' _Hayato ran in another direction

'_Hn' _Hibird's singing disappeared into another direction.

'_Hahaha!' _Takeshi disappeared as well. And then, there was one.

'_Lambo-sama isn't afraid… Lambo-sama isn't afraid…' _Lambo continued chanting to himself quietly. He wandered off in another direction.

* * *

Tsuna sneezed loudly. "Is someone talking about me?" he muttered. Then, he shrugged and continued going straight. By now, the silence of the fog was starting to creep him out. His eyes darted from side to side nervously. Every noise made him jump.

Just when he thought he was going to go insane, he felt a chill run down his spine.

_Wha-_

Tsuna heard a loud hiss and froze with one foot raised. His eyes grew to unimaginable proportions and looked down slowly. The fog seemed to clear just a bit and Tsuna saw a blackish colored snake. Sitting _right_ where he was about to step.

Tsuna's body trembled slightly as he suppressed the urge to scream. If he was lucky, maybe it wouldn't be poisonous.

The snake opened its mouth, revealing a pair of deadly looking fangs.

… Nope, still unlucky as ever.

The two continued to stare at each other, one in fear and the other in menace. Slowly, Tsuna moved his raised foot backwards and started backing away from the snake. Suddenly, the snake hissed even louder and lunged just a bit closer to Tsuna.

Tsuna shrieked loudly and fell onto his back. The snake began inching closer to the defenseless boy. _I'm too young to die!_

Suddenly, he spotted something small and white next to the snake. "W-wait!"

The snake stopped briefly.

"U-um, is that your f-friend?" Tsuna pointed at the white object.

The snake glanced toward where the human was pointing. Tsuna squinted to get a better look and realized that the thing was a mouse. Inwardly, Tsuna smacked his forehead. The mouse was its lunch, not friend. Tsuna was going to die now.

To his surprise, he saw the snake incline its head. It retreated back from the boy and curled itself protectively around the mouse. Slowly, the fear disappeared and sympathy took its place. He fidgeted nervously as he tried to decide his next course of action.

"Uh… i-is your friend h-hurt?"

The snake inclined its head again, hesitantly this time.

"Ano… I-I can help your friend... if y-you want."

The snake eyed the boy critically. Then it eyed the mouse's injuries. After a few moments of debating, the snake moved away from the mouse.

Hesitantly, Tsuna inched closer to the mouse. Just as his hand was about to touch the small rodent, the snake zipped up his arm and around his neck at lightning speeds. Tsuna let out a small 'hieee' that was cut off when the snake positioned itself at his neck. It motioned towards the mouse. Tsuna's hand trembled slightly as he picked up the mouse.

He looked closer at the small animal and gasped. The mouse looked pretty bad. Its fur was slightly matted with blood and one of its eyes looked like it was closed shut with blood. He hugged the small mouse to his body, and then he glanced around.

"Ah…haha… I'm actually kinda lost." Tsuna chuckled sheepishly at the snake.

If snakes could look exasperated, this one did. Before it could even express its dissatisfaction, it heard a bird singing somewhere in the distance.

"Ah, that must be Hibird. Over here!"

A dark silhouette of a wolf appeared out of the fog and walked over to Tsuna. Sitting on its head was a bright yellow bird.

"Herbivore! Herbivore!"

'_Herbivore, what is that?' _Hibari glared at the snake on Tsuna's shoulder.

"Ah… I-I found it, H-Hibari-san. Its f-friend is injured."

'_Kufufufu… make one wrong move and I kill the boy.'_

To say Hibari disliked the snake would be an understatement. He _loathed _it. This was hatred at first sight.

Hibari growled at the snake menacingly before heading back towards the cabin. Hibird continued singing so that Tsuna could follow the sound. At last, they made it back to the cabin. Tsuna could hear the sounds of the other animals becoming closer.

'_Did you find Tsuna?'_

'_I have failed Tsuna-sama…'_

'_I could not find Sawada to the EXTREME!'_

'_Lambo-sama wants to go back inside!'_

"Herbivore! Hibari! Win!"

'_Hahaha! Hibari found Tsuna!'_

'_Damn you, you stupid wolf!'_

'_EXTREME Hibari!'_

'_Dame-Tsuna! Lambo-sama found you!'_

'_Kufufufu, what an interesting group of misfits.'_

All the animals' eyes bulged at the very dangerous looking snake hanging around Tsuna's neck.

'_You creepy bastard! Get away from Tsuna-sama!'_

'_Creepy snake to the EXTREME!'_

'_Gupyaa! Lambo-sama doesn't like snakes!'_

'_Step away from Tsuna.'_

'_Shut up herbivores.'_

"Guys! It's okay, I'm just helping out its friend!"

'_Friend?'_

All the animals looked at Tsuna's hands and saw the white mouse curled up in it.

'_Are you sure you don't mean lunch?'_

'_I don't EXTREMELY understand!'_

'_Maa maa, is this like Hibari and Hibird?'_

Tsuna stepped around everyone and went into the cabin. He gently placed the mouse in a towel on the table. The snake left Tsuna's neck and hovered over the injured mouse. Carefully, Tsuna washed off the blood and wrapped a small piece of cloth around the mouse's injured eye.

The mouse stirred and opened its eyes slowly. When it saw Tsuna standing over it, it squeaked in fear and attempted to hide behind the snake.

"Ah, it's okay! I'm not going to hurt you!" The mouse peeked up at Tsuna. "My name is Tsuna. You were hurt before but your friend let me treat you." Tsuna lowered himself to the mouse's eye level. He took out a piece of bread towards the mouse. "Are you hungry?" he smiled warmly at the small mouse.

Tentatively, the mouse took the bread and nibbled on it. Tsuna turned back to the snake. "You should stay here for a while until your friend heals. Is that okay?"

The snake nodded its head.

"Good, do you… mind if I give you a name?"

The snake looked at the rest of the animals. Then, it shook its head.

"Okay then. I think I'll call you…" Tsuna pulled a weird face as an odd name popped into his head. "Mukuro?"

'_Kufufufufu, what a fitting name.' _The snake nodded his head.

Tsuna turned to the mouse. "Do you want a name too?" The mouse nodded shyly. "I'll call you Chrome."

Chrome squeaked happily at her new name. She looked up at her companion. _'Mukuro-sama'_

'_Kufufufu, Chrome is a very beautiful name.'_

'_What! ? We have to let this creepy bastard stay here? ! I object!'_

'_I think Chrome is a nice person, Hayato!'_

'_Lambo-sama is not afraid of you…'_

'_EXTREMELY nice to meet you!'_

'_Hn'_

"Ah, look! The fog is starting to lift." Everyone went outside to look. Tsuna carefully picked up Chrome in his hands and Mukuro rested on his shoulder. Everyone watched as the fog slowly lessened into a light mist. Then, the sun shined down through the curtain of mist, creating a beautiful rainbow.

Tsuna smiled warmly at the rainbow. The colors reminded him of the seven flames, which in turn reminded him of how the sky is never without its elements. He looked down at his animal friends and felt a warm, fuzzy feeling fill his chest.

He wasn't alone anymore.

* * *

After dinner, everyone went to sleep. Ryohei slept in a corner of the cabin, Lambo slept next to the bed on the floor, Takeshi slept at the end of the bed, Hayato slept next to Tsuna, Hibari slept outside (away from the crowding herbivores), Mukuro slept on the night stand, and Chrome slept on the night table with Mukuro wrapped protectively around her.

As everyone slept on, Mukuro found a sudden interest in the ring that Tsuna had placed on the table. He looked at it closely and read the words VONGOLA on it.

_Kufufufu, so this is the Vongola sky ring. How interesting…_

In the Estraneo's lab, the researchers often spoke about current mafia news. Mukuro had always listened with great interest. One of the many things he had heard was of the great Vongola, who had fallen many years ago. They were the ones who kept the ruthless mafia families in check.

Without the Vongola, the evil mafia families easily over powered the good ones. Mukuro eyed the mittens and bottle of dying will pills that sat next to the ring. It looked like the boy was training. Perhaps training to take back his rightful place as boss of the Vongola?

Things were bound to get interesting sooner or later. Until it did, Mukuro had in mind to stick around until it happened. He looked forward to killing more Mafioso.

* * *

**A/N: You have no idea how much fun I had in writing this chapter. :D**

**Out of all the chapters, my favorites are probably Hibari and Mukuro/Chrome's… probably because lots of people died. Mwahahahaha!**

**Did you know that Mukuro actually means (dead) body? What person names their kid (dead) body! ? I too, like Tsuna, would make a weird face at such a name. ^_^**

**Leave a review!**


	8. A Trip Gone Wrong

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Metue – No, Tsuna can't understand them, but he is pretty good at guessing what they're saying.**

**Dacara – Nope, no yaoi or shounen-ai here. You probably won't see me writing any… ever. Romance just isn't my thing.**

"Blah" – normal speech by humans

'_Blah' _– speech by animals (animal sounds to humans)

_Thoughts – just in case you didn't know_

* * *

A Trip Gone Wrong

Much time had past since the arrival of Mukuro and Chrome. In that time, Tsuna worked hard to train with his weapons. While training one of those days, Mukuro showed off his ability to make illusions. After that, Mukuro made it his life goal to ruin everyone else's life with illusions, especially creepy, gory illusions to which he favored a lot.

His most favorite person to prank was Tsuna, who got scared easily. Hibari came second because Mukuro just enjoyed making the wolf angry. This usually ended up in fights that lasted for hours.

When Mukuro was busy being chased or fighting with Hibari, Chrome spent her time riding on Tsuna's shoulder. Chrome was quiet and always tried to help out Tsuna whenever she could, despite her size.

Tsuna rose extra early one day for his monthly trip to town. All the animals stood in front of the cabin, though Hibari stood apart from the rest. Tsuna stared at his friends. A cat, a dog, a calf, a kangaroo, a wolf, a yellow canary, a poisonous snake, and a mouse were certainly not the types of animals one would want to keep under any circumstances. Especially all at once.

Tsuna smiled warmly at the odd sight, chuckling slightly. "Okay guys; behave yourselves while I'm gone. Hibari, Mukuro no fighting alright? Chrome, I'm putting you in charge."

'_Hai Tsuna-san'_

'_I should be the one in charge…'_

'_Maa maa Hayato, don't be sad. Maybe you'll get the job next time!'_

'_Lambo-sama should be the one in charge! Lambo-sama is better than Bakadera!'_

'_Shut up stupid cow!'_

'_Kufufufu, like I'll stop bothering the grumpy Skylark.'_

'_Herbivore, I'll bite you to death.'_

'_Have an EXTREMELY safe trip!'_

Tsuna sighed as the animals all began arguing and fighting with each other. He gave them one last wave before heading off towards town. Chrome watched Tsuna until he disappeared into the forest. She turned back to the others and sighed. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

**Approximately 2 hours later**

Tsuna stood in the pet food aisle and looked at all the cans of pet food. He frowned and tried to determine which ones would be the best. In his basket sat a wedge of cheese, grapes, medicine, bandages, and various others.

Finally, he reached out to pick out one of the cans of cat food. Suddenly, a violent shudder ran through his body and startled him, making him almost drop the can and basket. Tsuna fumbled with the can and sighed in relief when he managed to get a firm hold on it.

He shifted uneasily as an uncomfortable feeling settled at the bottom of his stomach. He glanced around nervously and tried to pinpoint the source of his distress. When he saw nothing wrong, he placed the can into the basket and hurried to the register.

After what seemed like hours, the cashier finally gave Tsuna his change. He grabbed the bag of groceries and hurried outside. He glanced up and down the street but found nothing out of the usual. He speed walked towards the direction of the forest.

Just before he reached the edge of the forest, he felt the urgent need to hide behind something. Not a second later, he heard the sounds of gunshots. He threw himself to the side and hid in an alleyway. He glanced around the edge and his eyes widened with fear.

A band of black cars drove down the road, Mafioso were leaning out the windows and shooting shots into the air. What few people were on the streets started screaming and running for cover. All the cars stopped in the middle of the road and all the Mafioso got out. They began breaking down doors, setting fire to houses, robbing stores, and performing other violent crimes.

Tsuna started to tremble in fear. A memory of a burning mansion rose unbidden in his mind. A scream startled Tsuna from his memories. He turned his head and saw a pair of Mafioso come out of one of the houses. One held on to a crying mother while the other dragged away a screaming boy.

"No! Please don't take my child! Take everything else! Please!" the mother begged, tears streaming down her face.

"Mama!" the boy pulled away from the man and reached for his mother.

"Shut up woman!" The man holding the woman threw her to the ground and pointed his gun at her.

Suddenly, in Tsuna's eyes, the woman was replaced by a brown haired woman in a dress. The boy was replaced by a small, spiky brown haired boy.

_Run Tsuna!_

_Mommy!_

The man smirked down at the crying woman. Just as he was about to shoot her he felt a sharp pain on his head and found himself flying into a wall. His partner watched in shock as an orange blur sent his buddy flying. Before he could even blink, the orange blur zoomed towards him and sent him flying too.

The boy ran to his mother and hugged her. The mother stared at her savior. Her savior stood with his back turned to her. She stared at his hands, which were encased in orange fire.

"Hurry and go before more come."

The mother grabbed her child by the hand and bowed quickly to the boy. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" The mother and child ran away in the direction opposite of the mafia men.

The rest of the group heard the commotion and arrived at the scene. The all gasped when the boy turned around, revealing his burning orange eyes. The men gapped at the orange flame on his head.

"T-Those are Sky flames! There shouldn't be anyone with sky flames!"

"Look! That ring on his neck! He's from the Vongola!"

"It can't be… the Vongola! ? But they're all dead!"

"Pull yourselves together!" shouted one of them, the leader of the group. "He's only a boy! The first man to bring me his ring I will personally send in good word to the boss!"

The men shook off their shock and their eyes began sparkling with greed. "Die brat!"

Tsuna suddenly found himself swarmed with Mafioso. Bullets flew everywhere and men came at him from all sides. He used his flames to dodge the men and knock them aside. Behind him he could hear the rest of the townspeople running away from the area. He had to hold out until everyone has left.

He continued fighting, defeating the men with ease. Luckily, there didn't seem to be any flame users in the group. Just as he completed the thought, something red flew in his direction. Tsuna attempted to dodge the projectile, but moved too slow.

The object hit his arm and exploded. Tsuna shouted in agony and fell to the ground. He pushed himself up painfully and saw the leader tossing a small bomb in his hand.

The leader smirked. "Did you like my bomb? These bombs are made up of storm flames. Anything that touches them will start decaying and breaking apart."

Tsuna looked at his arm and saw that his sleeve had been completely burned off. The skin of his arm was burned and felt as if it were on fire. Tsuna glared at the man through a haze of pain.

"Hey now, I'm only doing my job. Grab his ring and we'll kill him after." Some of the men ran towards Tsuna and started to grab for the ring.

Tsuna lashed out with his good arm and sent the men flying back. In a burst of speed, he tried to escape towards the forest.

"You're not going anywhere!"

Tsuna's hyper intuition signaled the approach of the bomb. Instead of flying away from the bomb, he went towards it. Before the fuse was finished, he grabbed the bomb and sent it back towards the Mafioso. The men shouted in panic as the bomb went of, destroying the area.

Some of the men who survived staggered out of the smoke. Others lay on the floor either mortally wounded or dead. Miraculously, the leader seemed to survive the explosion. He waved away the smoke and took in the casualties. One of the men approached him.

"Sir, should we go after the boy?"

"No, we'll return back to headquarters and give the boss our report. We're going to need more reinforcements to bring him down."

"Yes sir"

* * *

Tsuna staggered through the air above the forest, his vision becoming blurry. Slowly, his energy began to drain and he dropped lower and lower. He landed on the ground, not wanting to crash land in the middle of the forest. He leaned against a tree and breathed heavily.

His whole body felt like it had just been hit by a truck. His injured arm felt like it was submerged in lava. His eyes started to drop and the adrenaline began to wear off. Unable to take another step forward, he collapsed against the tree and drifted into unconsciousness. A few minutes rest wouldn't hurt.

A little ways off, a small yellow bird soared above the trees, singing the Namimori Middle school anthem. As it watched the forest pass by below, it spotted a familiar figure amidst the trees. Curious, Hibird changed course and flew in to get a closer look.

When the canary had gotten close enough, it instantly recognized the person. "Herbivore! Herbivore!"

The bird landed on Tsuna's head, but the brunette made no response or movement. The bird jumped onto the boy's shoulder and examined him. When it was convinced that the boy was still breathing, it flew off quickly to search for the wolf.

Hibari slinked through the underbrush, keeping a look out for any 'peace disturbing' herbivores. About half an hour ago, he had gotten bored with the illusionist herbivore, who kept hiding in illusions to escape the pissed off wolf, and went off to patrol.

After walking round the forest by himself for half an hour, his initial anger slowly ebbed and was replaced with the calmness that usually followed his routine.

His train of thought was abruptly broken by a high pitched voice.

"Hibari! Hibari!" Hibird landed on Hibari's head.

'_What is it?'_

"Follow! Follow!" Hibird took off again and flew into the forest.

Hibari dashed after the hurrying canary, wondering what had caused it to become so distressed. When Hibari came upon the injured herbivore, he had a sudden sense of déjà vu. In a flash, his whole body bristled with anger. He began planning the very brutal and bloody demise of the one who dared to steal his prey. _Again._

'_Fetch the other herbivores…__**now**__.'_

"Hai!" Hibird flew off towards the cabin.

**At the cabin**

'_Gupyaaa! A ghoooost!' _The cow promptly fainted onto the floor.

'_Kufufufu, so easy to scare. Where has the Skylark disappeared to? He is more fun to bother.'_

'_Mukuro-sama, Tsuna-san said not to cause trouble.'_

'_Kufufufu, don't worry my dear Chrome. I'm only having a little fun.'_

'_That is some sick sense of fun you have, creepy bastard.'_

'_What did the kitten say? Perhaps I should use you as a practice dummy.'_

'_Haha, are we playing a new game again?'_

'_I am bored to the EXTREME!'_

"Herbviores! Herbivores!"

'_Hey look! It's Hibird! What's wrong?'_

'_Kufufufu, tell me where your master is.'_

"Hurry! Hurry! Bad! Bad!"

'_Oi! Where are you going? !'_

'_Follow the bird to the EXTREME!'_

'_Don't leave behind Lambo-sa- GUPYAAA! Get off Lambo-sama!'_

'_Kufufufu, getting moving or I'm going to send more ghosts after you. Don't fall off, my dear Chrome.'_

'_Mukuro-sama…'_

All the animals ran after the yellow bird into the forest. As they got closer to Hibari, they caught the faint smell of blood on the air. When everyone figured out the source of the scent, the atmosphere took a nosedive and they all increase their speed to the max.

'_Tsuna-sama!/Tsuna!/Sawada!'_

'_Dame-Tsuna, Lambo-sama doesn't like this joke. Get up!'_

'_Stop crowding herbivores or I will bite you to death.'_

'_Hibari! What happened to Tsuna?'_

'_What did you do to Tsuna-sama! ?'_

'_I found him like this.'_

Everyone froze when they heard Tsuna groan. "Urgh… wha?" Tsuna stared around him blearily. "E-everyone? Wh-where did you all come from?"

'_Tsuna-sama! You're okay! I'm going to kill the bastards who did this to you!'_

'_You are EXTREMELY awake Sawada!'_

'_Tsuna, you're injured badly.'_

'_Tsuna-san…'_

"It's okay guys. I… uh, slipped off a cliff on my way back."

The animals stared at the injuries. _Those are not injuries you get from falling off a cliff!_

Tsuna started to stand but a sharp pain washed over his body. He cried out sharply and collapsed back against the tree.

'_Tsuna!'_

'_You should stay still, Tsuna-sama!'_

'_You, cow herbivore, help the herbivore up.'_

Lambo stood next to Tsuna and helped Tsuna stand up. He stayed close and let the injured boy lean on him. Takeshi and Hayato remained at his side, watching the surrounding area warily. Hibari followed behind them and Mukuro and Chrome made sure Tsuna kept his grip on the cow.

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally reached home. Tsuna thanked everyone and limped towards the bathroom to treat his injuries. All the animals waited quietly for Tsuna. When he got out of the bathroom, Takeshi gently pushed him towards the bed.

"Wha- Takeshi, it's still early."

'_Maa maa, injured people should rest!'_

'_The baseball idiot is right! We'll take care of everything, Tsuna-sama!'_

'_Please rest Tsuna-san.'_

"Alright then..." Tsuna climbed into bed and lay on his back. Within moments, he was asleep.

All the animals sighed in relief, now that their human friend was safe and sound in bed. Hibari disappeared to do another round of patrolling, determined to find the distasteful herbivores if they were within the vicinity.

Takeshi and Hayato chose to remain close to Tsuna. Lambo and Ryohei went out to play but returned every five minutes to make sure Tsuna was still there. Chrome sat on the table and watched Tsuna sleep while Mukuro disappeared to god-knows-where.

At the end of the day, when night fell, everyone slept in their usual spots. Hibari, instead of sleeping far away from the herbivores, chose to sleep outside under Tsuna's window. A delicate, calming quiet washed over the cabin and the world was at peace again.

* * *

**A/N: Hai - Yes**

**The story is pretty close to the end now. Originally, I wasn't planning to make it a very long story (like those 30 chaptered stories… pretty much impossible for me) and focus around the bond between Tsuna and his Famiglia. Anyways, at this rate there are only 3 chapters left. Please keep cheering me on!**

**Have any questions, comments, or constructive criticism? Leave a review and tell me!**


	9. Animals of the Sky

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

"Blah" – normal speech by humans

'_Blah' _– speech by animals (animal sounds to humans)

_Thoughts – just in case you didn't know_

* * *

Animals of the Sky

'_Hayato! Hayato! Wake up!' _whispered Takeshi urgently.

'_Urgh… wha? Baseball idiot, it's too early. What do you want?'_

'_There's something wrong with Tsuna.'_

'_What! ?' _Hayato was instantly awake. He jumped up and checked his master.

Tsuna's face was really flushed and was wheezing heavily. Hayato could feel the boy radiating heat. Tsuna moaned weakly and shifted uncomfortably in his sleep.

'_He has a fever!'_

'_What do we do?'_

'_Herbivores, you are too noisy.'_

'_Kufufu, why are you all making so much noise?'_

'_Ah, Hibari! Mukuro! Tsuna is sick!'_

'_Hm?' _Mukuro went over to Tsuna looked at the boy's face. _'Kufufu, his fever's pretty high.'_

'_What should we do?'_

'_Gah! You guys are all idiots!'_

'_Noise to the EXTREME.'_

'_Lambo-sama is tired! Shut up Bakadera!'_

'_Do you know what to do Hayato?'_

The cat puffed out his chest. '_Of course I know what to do! I'm a genius!'_

'_Kufufufu, you could have fooled me…'_

'_Tsuna-san…'_

'_Shut up, you creepy bastard. First, we have to cool down Tsuna-sama. Someone fetch a cold wet towel or something.'_

Takeshi ran over to the closet where Tsuna kept all the towels. He stared at the door knob high above his head. _'Hahaha, I'm too short! Could someone help me?'_

Everyone stared at each other, noticing the lack of hands needed to turn the knob.

'_Kufufufu, you are all so hopeless…' _Mukuro used his illusions to open the door. Takeshi stood up on his hind legs and pulled out a small towel with his teeth.

'_Who's getting the water?'_

'_I EXTREMELY volunteer myself!'_

'_Stupid Turf head! You'll jump around too much and spill it before you get back here!'_

'_Who are you calling a Turf head, Octopus head!'_

'_You, you stupid-'_

'_Herbivores, shut up or **I will bite you all to death.**'_

'_Haha… Hibari is getting angry.'_

'_Tch, whatever. You, creepy snake, go fetch the water!'_

'_Kufufufu, making me do all the work are you? Come dear Chrome.' _Mukuro and Chrome faded away into mist. A few minutes later, they reappeared with a basin filled with cold water from the river.

Hayato jumped onto the bed and threw the towel into the basin. After he let it soak for a short while, he folded it the best he could with his paws and put it on Tsuna's forehead. He inspected his work before jumping back down to the floor.

'_Well?'_

'_We'll have to soak the towel again in another hour or so.'_

Suddenly, a low growl filled the whole cabin. Everyone turned to stare at the source of the sound.

'_Lambo-sama is hungry! Feed Lambo-sama!'_

'_Hahaha, Tsuna is sick so we're going to have to find food for ourselves.'_

'_A-ano… w-won't Tsuna-san be hungry too?'_

'_Che, the mouse is right. What should we do?'_

'_Maybe we could go gather food for Tsuna!'_

'_I think that's an EXTREMELY good idea!'_

'_So it's settled. Me and Hayato can go to the river and catch some fish.'_

'_Lambo-sama is going to eat grapes!'_

'_Chrome and I will find something.'_ Mukuro and Chrome disappeared to go search the forest for food.

Hibari had already left a long time ago.

'_Why do I have to go with you baseball idiot! ?'_

'_Because you're a cat! Cats should be good at catching fish, right?'_

'_You bastard! I'm going to kill you thinking that!' _Takeshi ran out the door laughing towards the river. Hayato chased after him, hissing angrily.

Lambo ran off into the forest to go find the grape patch from earlier. Ryohei followed after to make sure nothing attacked Lambo again. Soon, the cabin was quiet and empty once more.

* * *

_A small, spiky brown haired boy ran through a bright green meadow filled with flowers. High above his head in the sky was a rainbow. The boy sat down in the grass and started making a flower wreath. His tongue stuck out the side of his mouth as he tried to weave the flowers together. Finally, he finished it and grinned, proud of his accomplishment._

"_Tsuna!"_

_Tsuna spun around and saw his mother, father, and grandfather, waving to him from across the meadow. He was suddenly filled with overwhelming joy. "Mommy! Daddy! Grandpa!" He pushed himself up and ran to them._

_Just as he came within ten feet of them, a cold wind blew across the meadow. Tsuna stopped and looked up at the sky. Dark clouds rolled across the horizon, blocking out the sun. The rainbow disappeared and the meadow lost its color._

_Suddenly, he heard a loud scream. He jerked his head towards his family and found himself at the Vongola mansion. All around him was fire; men in black suits ran around in panic and were shouting out orders. Tsuna looked around frantically for his family._

_Then, he saw them straight ahead, with their backs turned to him near the mansion. As he began running towards them, his mother turned around and stared at him in fear._

"_Tsuna! Get away!"_

_The whole mansion exploded and flames engulfed the area. Tsuna shielded his face from the light and whimpered. When he removed his arm away from his face he saw himself surrounded by storm flames._

"_You're not going anywhere!"_

_A red storm bomb flew in Tsuna's direction. The bomb landed a few feet away from him and exploded, sending him flying backwards. When Tsuna pushed himself up, he was his fourteen year old self again with the injuries he acquired from the fight in town._

_Tsuna looked around himself in confusion when he noticed the lack of flames. Everywhere he looked he was surrounded by darkness. The darkness went on forever in all directions with no end in sight._

"_Where is everyone?" Tsuna panicked and felt his heart clench. He recognized this feeling. This feeling of suffocating darkness, this was loneliness. His only companion for the last three years._

"_Takeshi? Hayato? Where are you? Everyone, please come back!" Tsuna sobbed as he felt the darkness closing in around him. He flinched when the darkness began creeping up his legs. He watched with growing horror as the shadows came closer and closer._

_No! NO!_

* * *

"**NO!**" Tsuna woke up abruptly, tears streamed down his face. For a moment, he lay in bed in confusion. He stared at the ceiling and suddenly remembered that this was his cabin. He sighed in relief when he realized that it was all just a dream.

He started breathing heavily and his vision wavered. All of Tsuna's pains came back in a rush. The stifling heat of the fever, the burning pain of his arm, and the aches of his injuries, everything hit him hard.

Painfully, he pushed himself up slowly. He looked around the room and felt something missing. When Tsuna finally realized what was wrong, his heart almost stopped.

The cabin was completely devoid of his friends. He started hyperventilating. They had to be nearby, or maybe outside. This had to be a hallucination from his fever.

"Guys?" Only silence met his call.

"Hayato? Takeshi? Lambo? W-where are you?" Still no response.

"Everyone, where are you?" Tsuna began breaking down. "No, don't leave me! I don't want to be alone!" He pulled up his legs and hugged them tightly. "Please comeback…"

**Outside**

Hayato and Takeshi trudged back towards the cabin, carrying two fish and soaking wet.

'_Stupid baseball idiot! If you had held on to the fish like I **told you **we wouldn't be this soaked!'_

'_Maa maa Hayato, a little water never killed anyone. Is it because cats hate water?'_

'_I'm going to kill you one day!'_

'_Gyahaha! Bakadera is all soaking wet!' _Lambo and Ryohei approached the dripping pair; both were carrying a bunch of grapes.

'_Shut up you stupid cow!'_

'_Ah Senpai! You found the grapes?'_

'_I gathered an EXTREMELY large amount for Sawada!'_

'_Kufufufu, we found our share too.' _Mukuro and Chrome appeared on Lambo's back with a small basket of strawberries.

'_Gupyaaa!'_

'_Wow! That's a lot of strawberries!'_

'_Tsuna-sama will like my food better!'_

The group continued forward and met Hibari farther ahead. Sitting at his feet was a clearly dead rabbit. All the animals stared at it uneasily. Then, they stared at Hibari.

'_Ah, I see you found something for Tsuna too.'_

'_EXTREME rabbit Hibari!'_

'_Kufufufu, such a savage beast, killing a poor innocent rabbit.'_

'_I will bite you to death'_

'_Everyone's here right? Let's return back to Tsuna! He's probably hungry.'_

The animals all approached the cabin, chattering in excitement. Suddenly, they all froze when they heard crying from inside. They instantly burst through the door and scanned the area for intruders. When they saw none, they turned to Tsuna and found him curled up on his bed. From the looks of it, he didn't even seem to notice them.

'_Oya oya, did someone have a nightmare?'_

'_Tsuna-sama?'_

Takeshi ran up to the bed and stood on his hind legs next to Tsuna. _'What's wrong Tsuna?'_

Tsuna finally looked up and stared at everyone. The animals were all shocked to see dull brown eyes staring back at them. For a moment, Tsuna seemed to have trouble recognizing them. Then, his eyes started to focus slightly. "…Everyone?"

He stared at Takeshi incomprehensively. Abruptly, he lunged at the dog and hugged him tightly.

Takeshi was momentarily startled and whimpered in confusion. _"Tsuna? What happened? Are you okay?'_

The room was silent again when everyone heard Tsuna start crying again. "Don't leave, it's lonely here." he whispered in a small, fearful voice. "It's so scary…"

Takeshi rested his head on Tsuna's shoulder and let the boy cry. The rest of the animals crowded around the bed, trying to comfort him with their presence. After a few minutes, Tsuna stopped crying and his eyes became bright and feverish.

Everyone gently coaxed the delirious boy to eat some of the food before falling asleep again. When they were sure that Tsuna was slumbering peacefully, they remained in the cabin in case he woke up again.

Hibari claimed the farthest corner of the cabin and growled at anyone who dare approach him. Hayato, Mukuro, and Chrome claimed spots on the wooden table while Takeshi sat in a chair. Lambo and Ryohei sat on the floor. At first, there was just an awkward silence.

'_T-Tsuna-san seemed really lonely…' _Chrome whispered.

'_Sawada must have been alone for an EXTREMELY long time.' _Ryohei kept his volume down so as not to wake the boy.

'_Speaking of a long time, how long has Tsuna been living here?'_

Everyone fell silent as they seriously thought about the question.

'_Kufufu, there's a picture frame next to Tsunayoshi's bed.'_

Everyone turned to look at the picture. In the picture they saw a small boy, who, from the recognizable hair style, had to be Tsuna, a woman with brown hair the same shade as Tsuna, a man in a black suit with yellow hair, and an old man in a suit. On the old man's ring they could clearly see the ring that Tsuna always kept with him.

'_Tsuna looks likes like he's eight or nine in the picture. Where do you think his parents are?'_

'_Maybe Sawada EXTREMELY ran away from home.'_

'_That's wrong, Turf Top! Why would Tsun-sama run away from his family? There doesn't look like there's anything wrong in the picture.'_

'_Kufufu, his family was killed.'_

A long silence.

'_How would you know that, creepy bastard?'_

'_Oya oya, do you know what that ring is? That is the sky ring of the Vongola Famiglia.'_

'_Vongola Famiglia? Is that a mafia family?'_

'_W-what? Tsuna-sama is part of the Vongola Famiglia! ?'_

'_I don't EXTREMELY understand.'_

'_Lambo-sama doesn't like clams!'_

'_Kufufufu, you are all idiots. The Vongola were once a strong mafia family who ruled over the other families. They were all supposedly killed off around five years ago when all the families banded together against them.'_

'…_Tsuna is part of the mafia?' _Takeshi had trouble imagining that his innocent best friend was part of such a powerful family.

'_Wait! Those gloves and the pills… is Tsuna-sama planning to revive the Vongola Famiglia?'_

'_Kufufufufu, that's what I'm assuming.'_

'_But a Sky cannot survive out there without his guardians!'_

'_Sky? Guardians? I lost you Hayato.'_

'_Kufufufu, for a cat you seem to know a lot about the mafia.'_

'_I could say that about you, creepy bastard.'_

'_I EXTREMELY don't understand!'_

'_Let me explain,' _Hayato cleared his throat and prepared for a long speech. _'In order to become boss of the Vongola one must have Vongola blood, meaning they have to be related to the family. Bosses of the Vongola were given the Sky ring, one of seven Vongola rings._

'_Each ring represents a weather phenomenon that happens in the Sky. They are as follows: Storm, Rain, Lightning, Sun, Cloud, and Mist. Holders of these rings are called Guardians who follow the command of the Boss, the Sky._ _The Boss is always a natural born Sky type, while his guardians have an attribute corresponding to their Ring._ _ Each ring has a different color flame and each flame had a different property._

'_Storm Flames are red flames that are highly offensive and, with the assistance of its Disintegration characteristic, can make anything that touches them decay and break apart._

'_Rain Flames are blue flames that can be used to weaken a target by robbing its strength and capacity of movement._

'_Lightning Flames are green flames that are supposed to look more like electricity that actual fire, so I heard. They can be used defensively by projecting a solid barrier and also offensively by cutting like a sharp blade or electrocuting like actual electricity._

'_Sun Flames are yellow flames that have the power to induce and improve the efficiency of any type of activity. They can also be used for purposes of fulfilling support roles such as healing and strengthening individuals._

'_Cloud Flames are purple flames and with its characteristic, "Propagation", carries the ability of increase and replication._

'_Mist Flames are an indigo color and with its characteristic, Construction, makes the Mist Flame optimal to be used along with illusions._

'_Sky Flames are orange and are the rarest flames, most comparable with real flames. Its characteristic, Harmony, represents a state without contradiction or flaws in which the balance of the whole is maintained._

'_Tsuna can't become the boss until he has all of his Guardians. His Guardians are supposed to protect him.'_

'_That was an EXTREMELY long explanation and I still don't understand to the EXTREME.'_

_That's because you're a natural idiot!'_

'_Maa maa, let's not fight.'_

'_Kufufufu, the thing I want to know is where the rest of the rings are.'_

'_That is a good question…'_

'_Perhaps Tsuna put them in that chest at the end of his bed? There's a really big lock on it.'_

'_Mukuro-sama…'_

'_Kufufufufufu, don't worry Chrome. I won't open the chest. I have no use for the rings anyways.'_

'_Tsuna was attacked at town, right? If he fought and showed off his flames, don't you think the mafia would know who he is?'_

'_Then that would mean… they might come here looking for Tsuna-sama!'_

'_When that happens what are we going to do?'_

Everyone fell quiet.

'_I won't leave behind Tsuna-sama. I will stay with him until the end.'_

'_Haha, Tsuna is my friend. Friends don't abandon each other.'_

'_Lambo-sama will not abandon his servant!'_

'_I will EXTREMELY protect Sawada!'_

'_When those herbivores come, I will bite them to death.'_

'_Kufufufu, I want to torture some Mafioso.'_

'_I will stay with Mukuro-sama.'_

'_So it's settled. We're going to stay with Tsuna through thick and thin, right?'_

'_Do not lump me with you herbivores.'_

'_Kufufu, I do whatever I wish.'_

'_Hai…'_

'_EXTREME!'_

'_Lambo-sama is bored!'_

'_Stupid cow!'_

'_Haha… I'm guessing that's a yes?'_

* * *

Five men sat at a long wooden table in pitch dark conference room. Their bodies were hidden in the darkness. They were the bosses of the traitorous mafia families that had long ago slaughtered the Vongola.

"I have called all of you today to discuss an event that could possibly ruin all of our families." said the boss of the Morte di Famiglia.

"Speak up already! I don't have all day!" growled the boss of the Divorando, slamming his fist onto the table.

Someone chuckled. "I'm sure Morte has something useful to say." This was the boss of the Bugiardo Famiglia.

There was a yawn at the far end of the table. "This is why I _detest _meetings." droned the boss of the Gabbia Famiglia, sitting with a slouch.

The boss of the Parassiti Famiglia sat in silence and watched the others with a keen eye.

"What I wanted to discuss today was a report brought in by one of my subordinates. On one of their raids they were attacked by a brown haired boy."

"Feh, how pathetic. Your men are complaining about a small boy? Perhaps the Divorando should re-train all of them, personally."

"Divorando! I'm sure the Morte have a good reason for being destroyed by such a _fearsome _child." scolded the Bugiardo boss, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"The boy had sky flames."

This caught everyone's attention. The Gabbia boss sat up straight. "Do you know what you are saying? You are implying that the Vongola are still somehow alive?"

"You must be lying."

"How ironic, coming from the Bugiardo. The world must be ending."

"So basically you're saying that we have to work together just to kill _one boy_? I could probably kill him with a flick of my wrist."

"Now, now, overconfidence will cause your downfall. Remember what happened to the Estraneo Famiglia? They got too overconfident in their experiments and what happened? Killed by one of their own test subjects."

"Psh, they are a disgrace to all mafia families and their name should be wiped from the planet."

"This boy is supposedly only fourteen yet he seemed to have good control of his flames. In order to escape, he used one of my men's own bombs. This attack wiped out almost their whole squad. Based on this evidence, it is assumed that the boy has the famed Hyper Intuition."

"Famed Hyper Intuition you say? That certainly changes everything."

"Luckily, before he escaped, he was caught off guard the first time and was injured. We must find him while he is still weak. Will you join me?"

Silence filled the conference room.

"I'm in." said the boss of the Divorando Famiglia.

"I'll follow." smiled the boss of the Bugiardio Famiglia.

"Whatever, it'll pass the time." replied the boss of the Gabbia boss, returning back to his slouch.

"I'll lend a hand." murmured the boss of the Parassiti Famiglia quietly.

"Then it's settled. I will send you the location where the boy was last seen and you will send your best men there. They will scour the forest and kill him on sight. Dismissed."

* * *

**A/N: Vongola – clams in Italian**

**This chapter had its ups and downs. I feel that the dream sequence did not go exactly the way I wanted. On the other hand, the meeting of the traitorous families was almost too perfect. :D**

**Does anyone read Noblesse? Cause, when I was writing traitorous families I was reminded of the traitorous clan leaders, lol. Hayato's explanation is from Reborn wikia.**

**Anyways, 2 more chapters to go! Review please?**


	10. Guardians of the Sky

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**A/N: Someone asked how Hayato knew so much about the dying will flames. Considering that Hayato once lived with a scientist who made weapons for the mafia, it would make some sense that he learned about the flames and some mafia history during that time. Have I filled in the plot hole?**

"Blah" – normal speech by humans

'_Blah' _– speech by animals (animal sounds to humans)

_Thoughts – just in case you didn't know_

* * *

Guardians of the Sky

A black car drove up to the ruins of the town and parked itself next to a group of similar vehicles. All the men stepped out of the car and scanned the scenery with frowns. They finally spotted an even larger group of people in front of the forest. They walked up to them swiftly.

"Took you long enough to get here." snapped one of them men, presumably from the Divorando Famiglia.

"If you hadn't arrived so early then we would have been right on time. Your bloodlust is a pain to deal with." growled one of the men.

"Cut it out." warned someone from the Morte di Famiglia. "We're here to find the last survivor of the Vongola, not squabble amongst each other like children."

The two groups growled at him but quieted down. The Morte Mafioso looked at his small army. There were roughly twenty mafia members here. The Divorando sent the most and the Parasitti sent the least. The other three families were somewhere in the middle.

When the Morte decided that everyone was accounted for, he began the briefing. "The boy was last seen here around yesterday morning. He disappeared into this forest. Based on his injuries, he probably didn't go far. The boy is fourteen years old and it is assumed that he has been living in a cabin somewhere. Your goal is to capture the boy, preferably alive, so that we can question him. We hope to find the location of the other six Vongola rings from him. Understand?"

There were muttered 'yes', 'whatever', and 'hurry up already we don't have all freak'n day'.

"We will spread out and search the forest. If you find the boy, send out a signal and the rest will go to your location. Move out!"

* * *

Tsuna woke up the next morning feeling much less feverish, though dizzy spells hit once in a while. His injuries healed a bit and ached less. He sat in bed for a short while before becoming bored and walking out of the cabin to sit on the grass instead.

Everyone was relieved that Tsuna was better but watched him carefully just in case he collapsed or something. Lambo and Ryohei ran circles around him, Hayato and Takeshi sat next to him, Mukuro and Chrome sat a little ways away, and Hibari and Hibird stood the farthest. The whole scene seemed perfect, the sun was shining, the skies were clear, and one could almost forget that there were evil mafias who were out causing destruction in the world.

The dream came to an abrupt end when Tsuna felt a shiver run down his spin. He did not need to think, he just instinctively knew what was going to happen next. He looked around at his friends with determination.

The animals instantly noticed his change of mood and raised their guards. Tsuna patted Takeshi and Hayato comfortingly and knelt down in front of his friends. "I want you guys to run away from here."

Everyone looked at Tsuna like he was insane.

'_Tsuna-sama! You can't go out there alone! You're still unwell!'_

'_You should run away with us, Tsuna!'_

"I don't want you all to get hurt because of me. I'm going to try and stall for time." He stood up and put on his gloves.

'_No Tsuna!/Sawada!/Tsuna-sama!' _Before everyone could blink, Tsuna had already disappeared to go fight the Mafioso who had entered the forest.

They all stared at the spot where Tsuna had stood not one second ago. Hayato sat down in anger, angry that he had failed to protect his master. Takeshi whimpered as he stared out into the forest, where Tsuna was never going to return from.

Hibari growled angrily and stood up. He turned to go chase after the herbivore.

'_Wait! Hibari!' _Takeshi ran ahead of the wolf and blocked his path.

'_Move Herbivore or I will bite you to death.'_ snarled Hibari in barely contained rage.

'_If you go out there, Tsuna will be troubled.'_

'_I will bite those herbivores to death.'_

'_Kufufufu, for once, unfortunately, I will have to agree with the skylark.'_

'_Mukuro-sama…'_

'_Me too to the EXTREME!'_

'_I'm sorry to say this, but the baseball idiot is right.'_

'_I am not weak, herbivore.'_

'_Oya oya, what are you implying?'_

'_Think about this reasonably! There are probably tons of enemies out there! They most likely won't be some weak, ordinary Mafioso. They'll probably be flame users! You'll be destroyed by them!'_

'_Kufufufu, I have the power to create illusions. They will be no problem to me.'_

'_You are only one snake! What can you do? If you all go out there, Tsuna will be forced to protect you!'_

Everyone fell silent at this. However, Hibari tried again to get past Takeshi. _'I do not care as long as I get to bite annoying herbivores to death.'_

'_Kufufufu, I will take some Mafioso down to hell with me.'_

'_EXTREME!'_

'_Wait!'_

Takeshi was trying his best to keep back Hibari. When he saw Ryohei and Mukuro also trying to leave, his eyes widened. He couldn't possibly stop an illusionist snake _and _a kangaroo at the same time!

Hayato began to panic. The three reckless animals would only cause trouble for Tsuna. It seemed that Tsuna was going to die whether the animals went to help him or not. Just when he was about to give up hope, a strange voice spoke from above them.

"Ciaossu"

* * *

Tsuna became a bright orange blur as he flew through the forest. He continued flying until he saw a small handful of Mafioso walking through the forest. He disappeared for a moment and reappeared behind the closest enemy. He gave the enemy a swift kick, sending him flying and smacking into a tree unconscious.

Before the others had time to shout, Tsuna had already moved on to the next enemy. And the next and the one after that one. Soon, every one of the Mafioso was taken out. Just as Tsuna was about to move on to another area of the forest, tree roots burst out of the ground and swatted him to the ground. Tsuna hit the ground with a sharp gasp, landing on his injured arm.

He carefully pushed himself up and saw a cloaked figure appearing a few feet ahead of him. "So you've finally appeared, Vongola." said the woman. "I have already sent a signal to the rest of my allies. What will you do? Will you play cat and mouse or be the brave but foolish hero?"

"I will not go down so easily." Tsuna glared at the woman.

"So you chose to fight." The woman held out a hand to her side. "Know your enemy, for I am of the Morte di Famiglia." A scythe materialized in her hand and the bodies of the defeated Mafioso disappeared, making her a mist user. "If you tell me the location of the other Vongola rings perhaps I will give you a painless death."

"I will never tell you where they are."

"Then I will force the answer out of you."

* * *

All the animals looked up and found themselves staring at the most bizarre sight they had ever seen. Hanging above their heads from a tree branch was what appeared to be a _baby _in a _fairy costume_. Both the baby and animals stared at each other for several moments in stunned silence.

Finally, Hayato turned to Mukuro. _'I always knew you were creepy and not right in the head, but this takes it to a whole other level.'_

'_Maa maa, that's a pretty impressive illusion Mukuro.'_

'_Herbivore, I will bite you to death for distracting me with illusions.'_

'_Kufufu, I'm sorry to say this, but that isn't mine. In fact, that isn't even an illusion.'_

'_What? You're telling me that's an actual baby hanging up in that tree! ?'_

'_I am confused to the EXTREME!'_

There was the loud crack of a gun going off. Everyone flinched and looked around in confusion. They looked up again and saw, with complete disbelief, to see the baby holding a smoking gun. "Don't talk about me as if I'm not here or I will kill you." The animals found it hard to take the baby's threat seriously. _Especially _when aforementioned baby was hanging from a branch in a fairy costume.

'_You… WHO ARE YOU! ?' shouted Hayato._

"I'm a forest fairy."

Everyone stared. One could almost see one large thought bubble forming above their heads with the word _WTF_.

'_Kufufufufufu, who would believe such a ridiculous lie?'_

'_Gyahahaha! Lambo-sama thinks you look funny!'_

A large one ton mallet came flying out of nowhere and hit Lambo. Lambo began crying hysterically.

"Shut up"

The ground suddenly trembled briefly and explosions rumbled in the distance. The animals knew instinctively that Tsuna was the cause of the explosions. By the sounds of them, it didn't seem like he was on the winning side.

They heard a loud snap and the wire that connected the baby to the branch broke. The baby did a brief flip and landed on the floor. The animals gapped. No longer was the baby wearing the fairy costume. Instead, he was now wearing a black suit and a fedora with a chameleon perched on the rim.

"All jokes aside. I am Reborn, the greatest hitman in the world. This is my partner Leon. I am here to grant you your wish."

Silence echoed throughout the clearing.

'_That's a whole load of crap!'_ shouted Hayato._ 'How can a baby be the greatest hitman in the world? !'_

"Do you dare question it?" there was a dangerous glint in Reborn's eye. Hayato backed down, muttering darkly under his breath.

_'You... you said something about our wish?' _questioned Takeshi in confusion.

"Well, more like to help grant your wish. You want to help Dame-Tsuna right? I know of a way to become powerful enough to stop the mafia in the forest."

'_Is… is that true?' _Chrome whispered hesitantly.

"Of course." smirked Reborn.

'_Then tell us! Tell us how we can help Tsuna!'_

"This way." They followed Reborn to the cabin. Reborn broke down the door with a swift kick and the animals protested loudly on the act of vandalism. The hitman ignored them and headed straight for Tsuna's chest. He reached up for Leon. The animals watched as Leon changed into a gun. Reborn shot the lock and broke it.

He threw open the lid and jumped into the chest. Everyone backed away as various objects came flying out of the it. After a few moments, a large suitcase was thrown out the chest and out the door onto the grass beyond. All the animals ran out side and surrounded it.

Reborn stood in front of the suitcase and opened it. The animals all crowded around to see the contents. Inside were six rings that sparkled in the light of the sun. One spot was empty, signaling the existence of a seventh ring.

'_Kufufufufu, so these are the Vongola rings.'_

'_So many shiny things!'_

'_T-These are going to grant us our wish? What are we going to do with rings! ? We can't wear them!' _hissed Hayato.

"These rings have the power to grant you your wishes, but only if you have a strong enough resolve."

'… _Resolve?'_

"In order for the rings to grant you your wishes, you must make a choice. If you chose to help Tsuna, everything you know will change. Once you chose your path, there's no turning back."

The animals all adopted grim expressions at this.

'_I'll do it.' _Hayato said, determination glowing in his eyes.

"Is your resolve strong enough? Do you really wish to do this?" Reborn looked him straight in the eye.

'_I want to help Tsuna-sama!' _Hayato reached into the suitcase and picked up a red ring with his mouth. _'I owe Tsuna-sama my life! If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here. I will never abandon him!'_

The ring suddenly began to glow a bright red light, startling the rest of the animals. They all backed away from Hayato as red flames surrounded him. Reborn pulled down the rim of his fedora and smirked.

_**Continuously at the heart of the attack, the furious Storm that never rests.**_

The red flames completely engulfed Hayato and began growing taller and taller. When they seemed to reach a certain height, the flames dispersed to reveal a teen.

The teen looked around in confusion. He had silver colored hair and bright green eyes. He wore a black, short sleeved jacket with a red t-shirt under it and long, tan colored pants. "Eh? What happened? Why does everything suddenly look smaller?"

'_H-Hayato! You're human!' _barked Takeshi.

Hayato looked down at himself, shocked to find hands instead of paws. He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a stick of dynamite. A large, overjoyed grin spread across his face. "This is amazing! I can help Tsuna-sama now! I wonder how he'll react when he sees what happened to me-"

Reborn gave him a swift kick in the head, effectively shutting up the noisy bomber. He turned to the rest. "Well?"

Takeshi stepped up next and grabbed a blue ring with his mouth. _'Tsuna is my best friend! I made a promise that I wouldn't see anyone important to me get hurt again! No matter what the cost, I will always have Tsuna's back!'_

_**To become a blessed shower that settles conflict and washes everything away.**_

Blue flames surrounded the dog and engulfed him. The flames, like Hayato's, grew taller and taller. Finally, the flames dispersed and a tall black haired teen stood in the dog's place.

Takeshi wore a white long sleeved shirt with a blue colored zipper vest on top and black jeans. On his back, slung on his shoulder, was a sword carrying bag. Takeshi took the bag off his shoulder and opened it up. He pulled out a bamboo sword.

Takeshi scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Hahaha, I got a wooden sword."

Hayato gapped at the sword. Then he started yelling. "You baseball idiot! How are you going to help Tsuna-sama with such a useless weapon! ?"

Takeshi frowned thoughtfully at the weapon in his hand. He tilted the sword and Hayato blinked furiously when light was shined into his eye. Hold on a second… light! ? Hayato looked down at the sword and saw a real katana in Takeshi's hand. He blinked and the sword became a bamboo sword again. "Wha-How did- that's not possible!"

"Hahaha, I got a magic sword!"

While the two were busy arguing, Lambo snuck over to the suitcase. He hooked a green ring with his horn and raised his head proudly. _'Gyahahaha! Lambo-sama gets a shiny thing too! Lambo-sama wants to show Dame-Tsuna his new shiny thing!'_

"Stupid cow! What are you doing-"

_**To draw damage to himself and away from the rest of the Famiglia, serving as a lightning rod.**_

Green flames surrounded Lambo, startling the calf. Lambo mooed loudly in fear before being engulfed by the flames. Instead of growing like Takeshi and Hayato's, the flames shrunk. Everyone watched with expressions varying from shock, worry, and slight amusement. Finally, when it seemed that the flames couldn't get smaller, they dispersed.

Standing in the place of calf was a small child, with an afro and horns, wearing a cow print suit, crying hysterically. Everyone stared with open mouths at the child.

Hayato became conflicted, not knowing whether to laugh at the once-larger-than-him calf or yell at the child for being useless. He chose to laugh. "Hahahaha! You're so tiny now! And you look absolutely ridiculous! " He fell to the floor laughing.

"Maa maa, Hayato don't be so mean." Takeshi knelt down next to the crying cow child. "It's okay Lambo."

Lambo stopped crying and stared wide eyed at Takeshi. "Gupyaaaa! When did you become bigger than Lambo-sama! ?" Then, Lambo looked down at his hands and feet. "Gupyaaa! What happened to the great Lambo-sama-"

Reborn smacked the boy with his giant one ton Leon mallet. "Shut up, you are to noisy."

Lambo began crying again. He reached into his afro and began rummaging around in it. Everyone watched, question marks appearing over their heads. When Lambo found what he was looking for, he pulled it out. Everyone's eyes bulged.

Sitting in his hand was a pink grenade. Everyone froze momentarily, deciding whether to make a remark on the color of the grenade or run away from the clearly dangerous explosive. When the grenade flew out of his hand, everyone decided for choice two.

The grenade flew over their heads as they ducked and hit a tree. The explosion sent splinters flying and the tree toppling. Hayato came over his surprise and stormed over to Lambo. He started pulling at the boy's face. "You stupid cow! You could have killed us with that!"

"Waaaah! Bakadera is bullying Lambo-sama!"

Takeshi swiftly grabbed Lambo out of Hayato's grasp. "It's okay Lambo! Don't you want to show Tsuna your new ring?"

Lambo stopped crying after that.

'_It is my turn to the EXTREME!' _Ryohei grabbed a yellow ring and held it up to the sky. _'I will EXTREMELY protect Sawada! And I will teach him boxing to the EXTREME!'_

Multiple sweat drops formed.

"Ah, Senpai, I don't think-"

_**Destroying the misfortune that attacks the Famiglia with their own body, they become the Sun that brightly shines upon an area.**_

Yellow flames surrounded the kangaroo. The kangaroo shouted one last '_EXTREME!'_ before he was engulfed. The size of the flames didn't change too much in height and dispersed quickly. A tall teen with white spiky hair stood in the kangaroo's place. The teen was wearing a yellow t-shirt with an unbuttoned white dress shirt on top and long grey pants. He had a white bandage over the bridge of his noise and his hands were wrapped in white bandages.

"This is awesome to the EXTREME!" Ryohei punched the air. Everyone winced at the volume.

"Turf Top! I told you that you are too noisy!"

"What are you talking about to the EXTREME? You are shouting too!"

"Maa maa, let's all calm down alright?" Takeshi tried to calm the two noisy teens down.

'_**Shut up herbivores or I will bite you all to death.**__' _Hibari snarled angrily. The animals-turned-humans instantly fell silent, not wanting to be bitten to death.

The wolf went to the suitcase and glared down at the ring. _'Baby, you said that these rings will grant any wish?'_

(T/N: Baby is Hibari's title for Reborn, he is simply calling Reborn for what he is… a baby.)

Reborn smirked. "Yes, but only if you have the resolve."

'_Hn' _Hibari snagged a purple colored ring with his teeth. _'I want to become stronger so that I can bite those weak herbivores to death.'_

_**To be the aloof, drifting Cloud that protects the Family from an independent standpoint, and whom nothing can ever bind.**_

Purple flames surrounded Hibari and engulfed him. The flames grew and dispersed to reveal a raven haired teen with piercing eyes. Everyone (minus Reborn and Mukuro) unconsciously shivered from the waves of bloodlust that flowed off the boy. Hibari wore simple black pants and a white dress shirt. A black jacket hung off his shoulders. Hibari wielded a pair of steel tonfas.

Hibari examined his weapons carefully. He strolled over to the nearest tree and, with a sharp spin, slammed one of his tonfas into the trunk. A loud crack echoed through the air and the tree tumbled to the ground. Hibari smirked, eager to use his skills to destroy some herbivores.

Hayato and Takeshi gapped at display of power. "Haha, Hibari is really strong isn't he Hayato?" Takeshi laughed nervously.

Hayato sulked. "He's stronger than me… I have let you down Tsuna-sama…" Takeshi patted Hayato's shoulder sympathetically.

Hibird chose this moment to return back. He landed on Hibari's head and looked down at the human quizzically. "Hibari?"

Hibari looked up at Hibird. "Little one" he greeted.

"Hibari! Hibari! Strong! Bite to death!" cheered the little canary.

"Hn"

Mukuro and Chrome approached the last ring in the case. Chrome drooped in slight disappointment. There was only one ring, only one wish could be granted. _'Mukuro-sama, you can have the ring.'_

Mukuro did not like this one bit. He wanted to become human too, but he did not like the idea of leaving Chrome behind. He turned to the baby. _'Kufufufu, surely you do not expect me to leave behind my dear Chrome?'_

"The ring will grant you one wish with enough resolve." Reborn replied.

Mukuro stared at the ring thoughtfully. He slipped the ring around his tail and picked it up. He went over to Chrome and dropped it into her small paws. '_Have the ring, Chrome. I do not need its power.'_

Chrome stared at Mukuro wide eyed. Then she looked down at the ring. She wanted to help Tsuna, but she also didn't want to leave behind Mukuro-sama. She did not want either person to disappear.

_Tsuna-san and Mukuro-sama are important to me. Both of them saved my life and I owe them everything. I don't want to leave either of them behind. I want to remain with them forever!_

_**Creating something from nothing, and nothing from something; thus bewildering the enemy, to render the Famiglia's true form intangible with visions of deceit.**_

The ring flashed brightly and indigo colored flames surrounded both the mouse and the snake. The flames grew in height and dispersed to reveal one girl and one boy, though the boy was much taller than the girl. The boy had bluish colored hair while the girl had purplish colored hair. Both wore their hair in a hairstyle that suspiciously reminded everyone of a pineapple.

A six kanji could be seen in Mukuro's red eye, more clearly seen now that he was larger. He wore a shirt with a misty design and a green jacket, unbuttoned, on top. He wore matching green trousers with black boots. In one hand he held a trident.

Chrome wore her hair short and in a pineapple style, like Mukuro's. A black eye patch with a skull covered her right eye. She wore a green uniform similar to Mukuro's, but with a short skirt instead of trousers, with black boots. She clutched a trident, also identical to Mukuro's, in both hands.

"Kufufufu, that was interesting." chuckled Mukuro.

Chrome looked around, dazed. She turned to look Mukuro. "Mukuro-sama?"

"Do not fret Chrome, I am unharmed. I must thank you for making such a thoughtful wish." Chrome sighed in relief.

Hayato analyzed both of them suspiciously. "Why are both of you wearing identical clothes? And why the heck are you wearing such a ridiculous hairstyle?"

Chrome blushed and hid behind Mukuro. Mukuro himself began chuckling eerily. "Kufufufufu, do you have a problem with my clothing?"

"Yes, I do"

"Perhaps I should show you what hell looks like."

"You can just try… Pineapple head." A large smirk appeared on Hayato's face.

Mukuro twitched. "I'm sorry, my hearing must be going. What did you just call me?"

"You heard me. I just called you a Pineapple head."

"Kufufu, someone has a death wish."

"Bring it on, I could defeat you with both arms tied behind my back."

"Mukuro-sama…"

"Stay back Chrome, someone is going to feel the power of the fifth realm."

"Maa maa, I think we should all calm down."

"Shut up baseball idiot! This creepy bastard is going to get what's coming for hi-"

Reborn smashed Hayato with his hammer and sent him flying. Hayato landed on the floor with a loud thud. "All of you, shut up before I have to kill every single one of you."

Mukuro was about to retort something rude back before a loud explosion shook the earth. Everyone jerked around and saw smoke drifting from various sections of the forest.

"What are you all waiting for?"

As one, they all made a dash into the forest towards Tsuna's location, their sky.

_**Rain, Storm, Cloud, Sun, Mist, and Lightning, he influences all of them. He understands and accepts all of them.**_

Reborn smirked from under his fedora. His job here was done.

* * *

**A/N: Somewhat unsatisfied with this chapter. Don't forget to leave a review!**


	11. Under One Sky

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**A/N: Many apologies for the late update! I realize it must be painful waiting since this is pretty much the last chapter and all. Finals and projects were holding me up so I had little time to write the story. Very sorry!**

**Okay, lots of people have been asking questions about Reborn. You're probably expecting an extremely complex answer. Truthfully… I just put Reborn in there to change everyone into humans *is ashamed*. I think it's safe to say that Reborn is just 'the best hitman' in the world, not 'best hitman of Vongola' in the world; he works independently… I guess. IDK. Maybe I'll explain him later…**

"Blah" – normal speech by humans

'_Blah' _– speech by animals (animal sounds to humans)

_Thoughts – just in case you didn't know_

* * *

Under One Sky

Tsuna slammed into the tree trump and slide to the ground. He coughed as his flame disappeared and his gloves changed back into mittens. Around him, the Mafioso chuckled maliciously in victory. One of the men crouched down in front of the boy and gripped his chin. He forced Tsuna to look at him in the face. Tsuna winced before glaring back defiantly.

"Where are the other rings?" questioned the man. Tsuna remained silent. The man stood up and kicked him in the stomach. Tsuna gasped and coughed up some blood. "Useless brat." The man prepared to kick him again before being held back by a hand.

"Stop it, we need him alive. I have a better idea." The other man motioned to the cloaked woman. "You, mist user. Use your abilities to get the answer out of him. I don't care if you have to destroy his mind to get him to spill, just get him to talk."

The woman nodded and approached the barely conscious brunette. Tsuna watched her in hazy vision and shied away from her in fear. He tensed when her hand approached his head and closed his eyes. Just before she touched him, the bushes rustled briefly and a black blur lunged towards her.

She changed into mist and teleported away from the boy. A tall black haired boy wielding a pair of tonfas growled at her and stood in front of Tsuna.

"Who are you? That boy is ours!" shouted one of the men.

Tsuna weakly lifted his head and stared at the back of the mysterious person. He heard the teen say "I'll bite you herbivores to death for stealing my prey" before falling unconscious.

* * *

"Get him!" Three men lunged at Hibari. Just before they reached him, sticks of dynamite flew out of the bushes in front of them. They quickly jumped back and avoided the explosives as they exploded. The whole area became covered in smoke.

"Tsuna-sama! /Tsuna!" Hayato and Takeshi rushed over to Tsuna.

Hayato quickly examined Tsuna's injuries and hissed. "Some of his wounds are reopening; we need to address his injuries fast."

"EXTREME fighting!" Ryohei burst out of the bushes, along with Chrome, Mukuro, and Lambo.

"Turf head! Use your sun flames to heal Tsuna-sama!"

"I don't EXTREMELY know how to do that!"

"You stupid-"

"Maa maa, let's all calm down for a minute. Senpai, I think you should try concentrating on Tsuna's wounds. Maybe that will work."

"I will EXTREMELY try!" Ryohei crouched in front of Tsuna attempted to make his flames work.

Hibari ran through the smoke and began destroying the Mafioso when he was sure that the herbivore was alright.

Mukuro chuckled evilly when he saw the skylark disappear. "I think I'm going to join in on the fun. Chrome, stay here and watch over Tsunayoshi."

"Hai Mukuro-sama" Mukuro disappeared and men began screaming in terror shortly after.

Takeshi crouched next to Lambo and patted his head. "Lambo, you stay here okay? I'm leaving it up to you to protect Tsuna."

"Gyahahaha! Lambo-sama will protect Dame Tsuna!"

Takeshi grinned and ran off to defeat some Mafioso. Hayato looked at the trio guarding Tsuna once more before lighting more dynamite and joining the battle.

Ryohei finally figured out how to activate his sun flames and started healing Tsuna. Lambo sat down next to Tsuna and watched in awe as the yellow flames erased the injuries. Chrome scanned the surroundings, her two hands clenched around her trident.

* * *

Hibari was surrounded by three Mafioso. One had cloud attribute flames and wielded knives. He used his propaganda ability to continuously spawn various sharp objects. The other two Mafioso were lightning attribute. One wielded a very pointy rod and the other appeared weaponless.

The cloud attribute Mafioso cackled. "Do you really think you can defeat us? Children like you should just hurry home to your mommy."

The other two smirked.

Hibari glared angrily. "I will bite you to death."

"Let's see you try!" The knife wielding man started hurling multiple knives at Hibari. Hibari quickly rolled out of the way and ran straight at him. Just before he reached him, he jumped to the side, barely avoiding one of the lightning men.

The pointed rod stabbed the spot where Hibari once stood and unleashed a wave of electricity. "You got lucky, but the moment I touch you with this you're going to be burned crispy."

Hibari was about to run towards the man before he suddenly froze. He growled angrily and saw thin threads of string around him.

"Don't think you can escape so easily. The string is coated with lightning flames." said the string wielding Mafioso. Hibari glared at all of them.

"So long boy!" The rod user was about to stab Hibari when bombs suddenly rained from the sky. They all jumped back as the bombs exploded around Hibari. They all turned around and saw the dynamite toting silverette.

Hayato quickly ran away into the forest.

"You brat! I'm gonna get you for tha-" A steel tonfa slammed into the man's face and knocked him unconscious. Hibari's mood had taken a turn for the worst. First he was called weak by herbivores. Then he was cornered by them. Finally he was forced to get help from the bomb herbivore.

Hibari was more than angry. He was livid.

"**I will bite you all to death.**" Their screams of pain could be heard for miles.

* * *

Hidden amongst the trees, the scythe wielding woman watched Hibari destroy her allies. She raised her scythe and prepared to ambush the boy when mist suddenly surrounded her. She glanced around herself warily.

"Kufufufufu, I wouldn't do that if I were you. The skylark hates it when people interrupt his fights. _Especially _if they're mist users. How about you play with me instead?" Mukuro materialized out of the mist a little ways off.

"I am Death itself. Weak illusions like these will not be enough to stop me."

"Kufufufu, how amusing. I am the epitome of _Hell_. Shall we see which is stronger? Hell or Death?"

"You will not defeat me."

"Kufufu, we shall see." The kanji in Mukuro's eye changed to a five. "Face the power of the fifth realm."

* * *

Hayato and Takeshi stood back to back, surrounded by Mafioso. Takeshi chuckled lightly. "The odds of this aren't looking too good, Hayato."

"Stupid baseball idiot! This is why I told you not to follow me!"

"But don't they always say that 'two heads are better than one'?"

"I don't have time for your jokes!"

Suddenly, one of the men rushed in and attacked Takeshi. The man was holding a longsword and brought it down with a heave. Takeshi managed to black the sword with his katana, his knees bent slightly under the weight.

"Uh, I could use some help Hayato. Have anything up your sleeve?" grunted Takeshi.

"Tch" Hayato pulled out a smoke bomb and threw it onto the floor, flooding the area with smoke. While the rest of the men started shouting in confusion, Takeshi shoved off the swordsman.

"Thanks Hayato! I owe you one!" Takeshi activated his rain flames and started attacking the Mafioso.

Hayato muttered under his breath. "Stupid baseball idiot…" He started throwing bombs around, hitting his targets with deadly accuracy.

Finally, the smoke lifted and all the men lay on the floor. Takeshi grinned and gave Hayato a thumbs up. "We make a good team!"

"Che, these mafia men are just too weak."

"Haha, if you want to put it that way…"

* * *

Chrome's eyes shifted from side to side nervously. She flinched at every pained shout or angry yell from beyond the trees. She glanced behind nervously to check on Ryohei's progress. Most of Tsuna's injuries were healed, but he needed a few more minutes.

She snapped her head forwards when she heard the rustle of leaves. A group of Mafioso emerged from the bushes, evil smirks on all of their faces.

"Well, well, well, look what we got here. They only left a girl to protect the Vongola? How pitiful. Move aside, I would hate to ruin a pretty face like yours."

Chrome gripped her trident tightly. "I won't let you hurt Tsuna-san."

"Aww, how cute. This makes me almost want to cry. Keep her alive boys; she's mine after all this is over." The men inched closer to Chrome, evil intent clearly showing in their eyes.

Chrome twirled her trident and slammed it into the ground. Mist surrounded her and the men. The men cried out in confusion. Soon the mist dissipated, whisking Chrome and the Mafioso away from Tsuna.

_I won't let you down, Mukuro-sama, Tsuna-san._

Ryohei finally finished healing Tsuna. He jumped to his feet and punched his fist into the air. "I EXTREMELY did it!" roared Ryohei. "I healed Sawada to the EXTREME!"

No sooner had he finished his celebration a large, muscular man came out of the bushes. He smirked down at Ryohei. "They left a child to protect the esteemed heir of the Vongola? This is almost too easy."

Ryohei turned to the man, a large grin spread across his face. "You look like an EXTREME opponent! I will defeat you to the EXTREME!"

"Step aside weakling-" The man never finished his sentence, for Ryohei lunged forward and punched the man directly in the stomach, sending him flying backwards into the forest.

"EXTREME!" Ryohei ran after the man, leaving Lambo to protect Tsuna.

Lambo stood up and puffed out his chest. "Lambo-sama will protect Dame Tsuna! Lambo-sama is strong and powerful!"

Three men slinked out of the forest and smirked at the cow child. "Haha, good thing we waited for the others to lure away the other two. Now all we have to deal with is the little brat."

"Ha! This will be a piece of cake."

Lambo laughed confidently at the men. "You will never be able to get past the great Lambo-sama! Lambo-sama might spare you if you promise to become Lambo-sama's servants."

One of the men twitched in annoyance. "This brat is annoying. I want to kill him."

"Go right on ahead. No one's stopping you."

The man grinned and pulled out a sharp knife. "Prepare to die brat."

Lambo quickly lost his bravado at the sight of the extremely sharp object. He backed up quickly before tripping over a branch. He began tearing up in fear.

"Awww, is the little brat afraid? Well that's too bad! Should've thought of that before trying to make us slaves!" The men moved closer and closer, closing in on Lambo and Tsuna.

Lambo was now on the verge of tears. He struggled to hold back the flood. "To-ler-rate… Waaaah! Lambo-sama is afraid!" Lambo began crying and small green sparks gathered around his horns.

"What the-"

There was a bright green flash and lightning exploded from Lambo, electrocuting the men. The men screamed in pain before collapsing onto the floor, burnt to a crisp. Lambo stopped crying and started laughing at them.

"Gyahahaha! The great Lambo-sama has defeated you! Now you have to be Lambo-sama's slaves!"

The men remained silent, knocked unconscious from the extremely high voltage.

The mafia men were soon pushed back, Mukuro and Hibari defeating the most. The Mafioso retreated from the forest, dragging their wounded with them. Their bosses would surely not be happy with this failure.

The guardians quickly returned back to Lambo and Tsuna. Chrome carried the cow child, who had fallen asleep shortly after their arrival, from exhaustion, and Takeshi carried Tsuna on his back. They all returned back to the cabin where they patiently waited for their precious friend to wake up.

* * *

The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon, signaling the start of a brand new day. Tsuna stirred as the first rays hit his face. He cracked open his eyes and squinted in the light. For a few moments, he stared at the ceiling of his cabin in a daze.

Suddenly, reality struck. His eyes flew open wide and he abruptly pushed himself up into a sitting position. He looked around his cabin and immediately flew into a panic for three reasons.

One, he was in his cabin and had absolutely _no idea_ how he got there.

Two, there were _strange people_ littered all over the place.

Three, there was _no sign_ of his animal friends.

Tsuna stared wide eyed at the strangers. Some of them were sitting on the floor, others were sitting in chairs. A silver haired teen was sleeping on his bed with his head in his arms. Tsuna was suddenly struck in the eye by something bright. He blinked in confusion and looked down at the silverette's hand.

He saw the Vongola Storm ring on one of his fingers. Tsuna quickly looked at everyone else's hands and saw that they were each wearing a ring.

Who were these people! ? Bandits! ? Mafia men! ? If they came to steal the rings, why were they still here! ?

Before Tsuna could even process all of the questions that ran through his head, the silverette stirred and blinked lethargically. When he saw that Tsuna was awake, his face brightened up like the sun itself.

"Tsuna-sama! You're awake!" he shouted.

Tsuna could only stare with a look of slight fear and confusion. The silverette's shouts also awakened the rest of the occupants. A dark haired, spiky teen woke up and looked at Tsuna.

The teen grinned. "You're awake! We were getting worried for a while."

A cow child, who had been sleeping in the boys lap, woke up and looked at Tsuna. "Gyahaha! Dame Tsuna is awake!" He hopped up onto the bed and hugged Tsuna.

A pineapple haired individual, who was sleeping in a chair, woke up. He looked at Tsuna and smiled what Tsuna deemed the 'creepiest smile' he had ever seen. "Kufufufu, glad to see that you are still alive, Tsunayoshi." The teen also won the award for 'creepiest laugh ever' too.

A pineapple haired girl, who had been resting against the boy's lap, blinked to consciousness. She saw Tsuna and smiled shyly at him. "G-good morning Tsuna-san. I'm glad that you're alright."

A white haired teen, who had been lying on the floor, woke up. "You are awake to the EXTREME Sawada!" Tsuna winced slightly at the volume.

"Turf top, you are too noisy!" hissed the silverette.

"I will bite you to death for disturbing the peace." snarled a voice. Tsuna turned to look at one corner of the cabin and saw a black haired teen glaring at everyone. When the teen's eyes landed on Tsuna, Tsuna unconsciously shrank into himself in fear. He made a mental note to _never _piss of this individual.

Tsuna stared at everyone for a long time without saying a word. The cheerful teen's smile dimmed and became worried. "Tsuna, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Tsuna blinked a few times. Then, he tensed and watched them with a guarded expression. "Who are you? What did you do to my friends?"

Everyone blinked in confusion. Understanding dawned in the silverette's eyes and he became very excited. "It's us, Tsuna-sama! Don't you recognize us?"

Tsuna stared at the silverette intently. He took in the silver hair and the sharp green eyes. He frowned slightly at the familiar colors. Slowly, Tsuna connected two and two and came up with an answer. He began instantly denying it.

It couldn't be possible. There was absolutely no way. But those sharp green eyes, that piercing glare, that pair of oddly colored eyes, there was no mistaking who they were. Tsuna pointed at the silverette with a trembling finger.

"H-Hayato?"

Hayato grinned in triumph. "Hai! It's me! Aren't you surprised Tsuna-sama? We were able to become human so that we could help you!"

Tsuna shook his head slowly. "T-that can't be… How is that… I don't even-"

"Kufufufu, someone is having a case of denial. To make everything simple, the rings granted us our… wishes."

"Rings?" Tsuna looked at everyone's rings. "How did you get those? They were in a locked chest!"

"Hahaha, a baby helped us!"

"A… a baby?"

"Some baby named Reborn opened the chest. He said something about being the best hitman in the world. Che, like we'd believe that."

"Reborn! ? You mean the sun arcobaleno was here! ?"

"Oh? You know about the baby?" Mukuro looked at Tsuna with interest.

"T-the arcobelano are a group of world's most powerful people. They appear rarely and only appear in dire times."

The whole room became quiet as they all thought about the mysterious baby. Tsuna stared at everyone nervously and fidgeted under the heavy, awkward silence.

"S-so you really are my animal friends?"

Everyone nodded.

"Why?" whispered Tsuna.

Everyone looked at Tsuna, confused. "Why what?" asked Takeshi.

"Why did you take the rings? You can't turn back, right? Now that you're wearing those rings, you'll be in danger! The mafia will try and kill you to get those rings! My life isn't worth the cost of all your lives-"

"That's not true!" shouted Hayato.

Tsuna flinched and stared. Everyone else looked at Hayato, surprised that he raised his voice at Tsuna.

"We chose to become human so that we could help! You helped all of us before and we wanted to do the same for you! I would willingly lay down my life for you, Tsuna-sama!" Hayato glowed with pride after his speech and made no move to retract his statement.

Takeshi smiled. He sat down next to Tsuna and draped his arm over his shoulder. "We're friends, right Tsuna? Friends don't abandon friends. No matter what happens, you can always depend on me to be there for you!"

"Dame Tsuna! Look at Lambo-sama's new shiny thing!"

"Kufufufu, I just wanted to teach those Mafioso a lesson."

"I wanted to be useful to you, Tsuna-san. I wanted to help you, like you helped me and Mukuro-sama."

"I wanted to teach you boxing to the EXTREME!"

"Hn, I wanted to become stronger so I could bite more herbivores to death."

Tsuna stared at everyone with wide eyes. Slowly, but surely, a warm smile spread across his face. The warm, fuzzy feeling from earlier filled his whole body.

"Thank you, everyone."

Eventually, the Vongola Decimo and his guardians rose up against the traitorous families. They rebuilt the Vongola mansion and restored the Vongola to its former power and glory. With the return of the Vongola came peace, stability, and justice. The era of battles and bloodshed ended and an era of prosperity began.

* * *

**A/N: I thank everyone who reviewed this story, put it on favorites, and added it to their story alerts! Sadly, all good stories must come to an end. I hope everyone enjoyed reading Animals of the Sky!**

**I decided to go play around with the polls and created one (I adore polls!). The question is 'Who was your favorite animal in Animals of the Sky?' Please vote on the poll and see you next time!**


	12. Thank You

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**A/N: Surprise! A nice little epilogue for all you wonderful readers. :D**

* * *

Thank You

Six years have passed since the defeat of the traitorous families and the rebirth of the Vongola. Much had changed in that time. Tsuna became the Vongola Decimo and worked hard to forge alliances and form peaceful treaties with other self respecting mafia families (ex. Cavallone Famiglia).

His guardians spent their years learning how to be human. Hayato caught on the fastest, being the genius that he was, and Ryohei, unsurprisingly, was the slowest. Shortly after the Vongola was reborn, Hibari decided to create his own little organization within Vongola.

He called it the Foundation, an organization made up of members, hand picked by Hibari, which acted as a sort of information network. Hibari knew about everything and everyone. If you were on Hibari's list, there was no place on Earth where Hibari _could not _find you. This made Hibari 'one of the most people to be feared in Vongola'.

Unsurprisingly, Mukuro also ranked very high on that list. He held many positions within Vongola: Mist Guardian, (un)official interrogator, master infiltrator, and amongst many other titles.

Chrome shared the title of Mist Guardian with Mukuro. Tsuna made a copy of the mist ring just for her so as to show her that she was part of the family as everyone else, ring or no ring. She also held the position of sanity advisor for Tsuna, being the only person not insane or abnormal in Vongola.

During the years of living with his guardians, Tsuna learned a great many things. One of those was 'never keep Mukuro and Hibari in the same room without supervision or they will destroy everything around them'. Tsuna learned that the hard way and was buried in paperwork for weeks.

The Vongola mansion was always lively, what with Ryohei's extreme volume and Hayato's constant shouting. Takeshi usually acted as peacemaker, being successful half of the time and the other half just making it worse. Lambo's stuck up attitude also tended to create trouble with others. Thankfully, he matured a bit after six years and argued with Hayato less (though not by much).

It began on what could be considered a normal day. The birds were singing, the sun was beginning to rise, and all the guardians, who each had their own rooms, were preparing to go down to breakfast.

Chrome tightened her boots and checked herself in the mirror once more. She had grown her hair long and had stopped putting it in a pineapple hairstyle. When she felt satisfied with her image, she turned and started to leave for breakfast. She opened her door and found the most curious object sitting on the floor.

In front of her door sat a small stuffed animal, a mouse. The mouse was the color of snow and had purple button eyes. Chrome carefully picked it up and examined it with awe. She clutched the toy in her arms and hurried down the hall.

Not too far down, she heard a familiar chuckle. "Kufufufu, good morning my dear Chrome."

Chrome turned and saw Mukuro materialize behind her. "Good morning Mukuro-sama." Chrome looked at Mukuro's hands and noticed that he was also holding a stuffed animal. Sitting in his hand was indigo colored snake with mismatching button eyes, one blue and one red.

"Kufufu, I see you have one as well." Mukuro indicated to the mouse in Chrome's arms. Before she could reply, she heard faint footsteps heading their way. She turned and saw the rest of the guardians heading towards them.

In Hayato's hands was a silver colored cat with green button eyes, Takeshi held a black dog with brown colored buttons and a white underbelly, Lambo held a cow, Ryohei held a white kangaroo, and Hibari held a black wolf.

"Hahaha, we all got a toy! I wonder who left them in front of our rooms." commented Takeshi, cheerful as ever.

"I woke up this morning to find this EXTREME kangaroo!"

"Gyahaha, Lambo-sama's is much better that Bakadera's!"

"Stupid cow!"

"Kufufufu, haven't you all noticed yet? Don't these animals appear to be us?"

Everyone stopped bickering and took a closer look at their animals. Sure enough, each animal actually represented each guardian. From the colors of the animals down to the button eyes, there was no mistaking it.

"But who would know about such a thing? No one else knows about that except Tsuna…"

Light bulbs all dinged on top of everyone's head. "Sawada gave us these EXTREME animals? We should go thank him to the EXTREME!" Ryohei made a beeline for Decimo's office.

The guardians quickly followed after the boxer. When they finally reached the mahogany double doors of Tsuna's office, Ryohei shoved them open overenthusiastically. "Sawada! These are EXTREMELY awesome-"

They stopped and noticed the lack of Tsuna in the room. The desk had a small, neat pile of papers instead of ten massive, disorganized stacks of papers.

"Where is Sawada to the EXTREME?"

"Hahaha, looks like Tsuna finished most of his paperwork! He's probably sleeping right now."

"Then we should go and wake him up to the EXTREME!"

"Stupid Turf Top! Tsuna-sama is probably exhausted from having to clean up your messes from your missions!"

"Some of those papers are also yours to the EXTREME!"

"O-only a small portion!"

"Bakadera makes a bad right hand man!"

"Stupid cow-"

"**Shut up herbivores.** You are disturbing the peace."

Bickering ceased. "Why would Tsuna make us animals? Is there something special today?"

Everyone racked their brains. "Ano… I know what today is." murmured Chrome softly. The guardians turned to look at her curiously. "It's the sixth anniversary."

Understanding dawned upon their faces. Sixth anniversary, six years since they became human for Tsuna. The animals were a thank you present from Tsuna.

Takeshi scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Haha, I feel bad for forgetting such an important date. I don't have a gift to give to Tsuna."

"Forgive me, Tsuna-sama! I have let you down as your right hand man!"

"Hn"

"I-I already made a gift to give to bossu from all of us."

"Eh? You did? What would we do without you Chrome!" Takeshi smiled in relief.

"Kufufu, that's my dear Chrome, ever the responsible person."

"Actually… the maids told me what bossu was doing and I figured out what day was coming."

"Hahaha, those gossiping maids."

"Gyahaha! Lambo-sama didn't forget what today was!"

Hayato smacked Lambo in the back of the head. "Stupid cow!"

* * *

Tsuna woke up half an hour later. He sat up and blinked owlishly at the rising sun. He stumbled into the bathroom and started cleaning himself up. When he finished putting on his clothes, he went to his bedroom door and found that someone had slid a letter under it.

He bent down and picked it up. Written in Chrome's distinct handwriting was 'Office". Curious, Tsuna left his room and made his way towards his office. He opened the doors and looked inside. Everything was how he left it with an extra two items.

Sitting on the desk was his gift and an envelope. Tsuna went the desk and smiled down at his gift. He picked up the envelope and opened it. He carefully read the card, a warm smile growing larger and larger on his face.

_Thank you for the gift, Tsuna-sama! I promise you that I will be your best right hand man!_

_Hahaha, this was a cool gift, Tsuna! Thanks for being a great friend and boss! Let's go play baseball later, ne?_

_Gyahaha! Lambo-sama likes the cow! It's much better than Bakadera's cat! Lambo-sama wants Tsuna-nii to play with Lambo-sama!_

_This gift was EXTREME! We should have an EXTREME boxing match later to celebrate!_

_Fight me herbivore._

_Kufufufu, thank you for the gift, Tsunayoshi. Being a mist guardian has been fun. If I had never joined, I wouldn't have been able to torture so many Mafioso._

_Thank you for the gift, bossu. I'm sure all of us will treasure your gifts. I know it was suppose to be a surprise, but the maids told me what you were making. All of us agreed that this gift represents you best._

Tsuna closed the letter and gently tucked it away in his desk. He picked up his present from his guardians and smiled at what represented him best.

A lion with a brown mane and orange button eyes.

* * *

**A/N: I've wanted to write this chapter for a while now. This signals the true end of the story. Ahhh, I have so many ideas for stories but don't know which one to do first! D:**

**Till next time!**


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